Etymologically
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cano

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈka.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkaː.no][1]

Forms

canō (present infinitive canere, perfect active cecinī, supine cantum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kan-e(je)-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂n-e- (“to sing”).[2][1] Cognate with Umbrian kanetu (“let him sing”), Old Irish canaid (“sings”), Welsh canu (“to sing”) and Ancient Greek καναχή (kanakhḗ, “clang”); English hen, the “singer”, belongs to the same root.[2][3][4] carmen “song” is from *kan-men.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan's first sources are the Carmen Saliare, which has the old imperative cante “sing!”, and Plautus.[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to sing or chant, to sing of something, and to celebrate in verse, as when Lucilius asks a poet to sing the deeds of Cornelius.[3] It was used of prophecy and incantation, of boasting, of playing an instrument, and of a trumpet sounding a signal, as in Caesar.[3][6] Ennius speaks of the verses that the Fauns and seers once sang.[3]

Döderlein says that canere is making music in general, with voice or instrument, while cantō is singing and psallō playing a stringed instrument.[7] The frequentative cantāre replaced it in Romance and gave English chant, and the agent noun cantor is the source of English cantor.[8]

Timeline

  • Archaic – the Carmen Saliare has cante.[3]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius speaks of verses sung by Fauns and seers.[3][5]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius asks for a song of Cornelius' deeds.[3][5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of a trumpeter sounding a signal.[3][5]
  • late 14th century – English chant is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To sing, chant.[3]
  2. To sing of; to celebrate (in verse).[3]
  3. To prophesy; to utter (spells).[6][9]
  4. To speak boastfully.[3]
  5. To play (an instrument).[3]
  6. (of a trumpet) To sound (a signal).[3]

Word family

  • accanō
  • canor
  • cantiō
  • cantō
  • cantor
  • cantrīx
  • canturiō
  • cantus
  • carmen
  • concinō
  • decano
  • intercinō
  • English chant
  • English hen

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press