Where does “can” come from?
Can comes from Middle English connen, from Old French cane, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵen-.
can (English): To know how to; to be able to; May; to be...
Definitions
- To know how to; to be able to; May; to be...
Ancestry of “can”, step by step
can traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Spanish can
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | can | dog, hound |
| 2 | Latin | Canis | a dog, a hound animal |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | δρόμος | race, running; racetrack; course, path |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ός | Forms agentive or patientive adjectives and nouns from the o-grade of a verbal root |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | *-os | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ós | Creates agent nouns from verb stems, denoting... |
via Middle English cunnen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cunnen | To know about; To be able to; to have the... |
| 2 | Old English | cunnan | to know, to be familiar with; can, to know how |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | kunnan | to recognise; to know how, to be able |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kunnaną | to know, to be familiar with, to recognise; to... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneh₃- | to know |