canyon English · revision 10703

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1834|origins=es cañón}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkæn.jən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is American English, borrowed from Mexican [[bor|es|cañón]], an extended sense of Spanish cañón, tube, pipe,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which is of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988) It is usually taken as an augmentative of caño, tube, or caña, cane, from Latin canna, reed (see [[cane]]),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) but since the Spanish word is attested in 1560–75 as callón, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster suggest it may come from calle, street, from Latin callis, path, in the sense “narrow way”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A narrow valley between cliffs: 1834, as cañon.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED's first record of the spelling canyon is from 1837.^(OED 1989) The Century Dictionary noted that this sense was peculiar to the United States, rare in Mexico and unknown in Spain.^(Etymonline) The verb, to cut into canyons, is from 1869.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1560–75 – Spanish callón.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1834 – cañon.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – canyon.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1869 – to canyon (verb).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A deep, narrow [[gorge]] with steep sides, cut by a river, especially in North America.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[canyoneering]]

+ * [[canyoning]]

+ * [[box canyon]]

+ * [[Grand Canyon]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cane]]

+ * [[cannon]]

+ * [[channel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}