Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cannon” come from?

Cannon comes from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, a noun formed with the Italian augmentative suffix -one added to Italian canna, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα, all meaning a tube or reed.

cannon (English): A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery...

Definitions

  1. A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery...

Ancestry of “cannon”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcanonA generally accepted principle; a rule; A group...
2Middle Englishcanoun—
3Old Frenchcanontube; cannon
4Italiancannonecannon; ace; large tube or pipe
5Italiancannacane; barrel; rod
6LatincannaA reed, cane; Anything made of reed or cane;...
7Ancient Greekκάνναgiant reed; reed mat
8Akkadian𒄀reed; a certain unit of length
9Sumerian𒄀reed; a certain unit of length

Words derived from “cannon”

  • cannonball
  • cannoneer
  • cannonry
  • autocannon
  • demicannon
  • cannonlike
  • cannonproof
  • megacannon
  • cannonballer
  • 加農
  • キャノン
  • 캐넌
  • ekanen
Every word from Sumerian 𒄀 →