canopy English · revision 2373

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkæ.nə.pi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|canope]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[bor|la-med|canōpēum|t=mosquito net]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la|cōnōpēum]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) [[der|grc|κωνωπεῖον|tr=kōnōpeîon|t=bed or couch with mosquito curtains]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''kṓnōps'' “mosquito, gnat”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Barnhart and Etymonline also give Old French ''conopé'', ''canapé''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A covering or hangings suspended over a throne, couch or bed, or held over a person in procession (1382).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Greek word named an Egyptian couch with a mosquito net.^(Etymonline) English kept the idea of the overhead covering,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) while French, Spanish and Portuguese ''canapé'' kept the idea of the couch and came to mean “sofa”.^(Etymonline) The covering idea was extended to any overhanging shelter, to the sky (1602), to the upper branches of a forest, and in the 20th century to parachutes (1930) and aircraft cockpits (1939).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1382 – a covering over a throne, bed, or person in procession.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1513 – a covering over a shrine or the Host.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1594 – verb, to cover with a canopy.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1601 – any overhanging shade; the uppermost branches of a forest.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1602 – the sky.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1682 – ''(architecture)'' an ornamental rooflike projection.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1930 – the umbrella of a parachute.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1939 – the cover of an aircraft cockpit.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A covering, usually of cloth, hung over a bed or throne or carried above an eminent person or sacred object.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A rooflike covering or awning over a doorway or walkway.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An ornamental rooflike projection over a niche, altar or tomb.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # The uppermost layer of a forest, formed by the crowns of the trees.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The transparent enclosure over an aircraft cockpit.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The part of a parachute that fills with air.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The sky, or any high overarching covering.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover with or as if with a canopy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[canapé]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}