canal English · revision 6467

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1449|origins=la canna}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈnæl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, [[bor|frm|canal|t=water channel, pipe]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|canālis|t=pipe, groove, channel]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a noun use of an adjective from [[m|la|canna|t=reed]] (see [[cane]]).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It is a doublet of [[channel]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A pipe for liquid: probably before 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie'', in Barnhart, about 1449 in the OED;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Etymonline has the anatomical sense, a passage in the body, from the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A tubular cavity in the body or in plant tissue is from 1626 in the OED.^(OED 1989) A watercourse or channel generally is from 1538, now obsolete,^(OED 1989) and an ornamental strip of water in a garden from 1663–64.^(OED 1989) The modern sense, an artificial waterway for navigation or irrigation, is first recorded in 1673.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The supposed ''canals'' of Mars are from 1888.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1449 – a pipe.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1626 – a duct in the body.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1663 – an ornamental canal.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1673 – an artificial waterway.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – the canals of Mars.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An artificial waterway for boats or for [[irrigation]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A tubular duct or passage in the body: ''the alimentary canal''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[canaller]]

+ * [[canalize]]

+ * [[auditory canal]]

+ * [[ear canal]]

+ * [[Panama Canal]]

+ * [[ship canal]]

+ * [[Suez Canal]]

+ * [[alimentary canal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[channel]]

+ * [[channelize]]

+ * [[canalization]]

+ * [[cane]]

+ * [[cannon]]

+ * [[kennel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}