Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “channel” come from?

Channel comes from Old French chanel, from Latin canalis meaning "watercourse" or "pipe," derived from Ancient Greek κάννα meaning "reed," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots.

channel (English): The physical confine of a river or slough,...

Definitions

  1. The physical confine of a river or slough,...

Ancestry of “channel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishchanel—
2Old FrenchchanelAlternative form of chenel
3Latincanālis—
4LatincannaA reed, cane; Anything made of reed or cane;...
5Ancient Greekκάνναgiant reed; reed mat
6Akkadian𒄀reed; a certain unit of length
7Sumerian𒄀reed; a certain unit of length

Words derived from “channel”

  • multichannel
  • chan
  • microchannel
  • channelization
  • subchannel
  • channelisation
  • cochannel
  • interchannel
  • channeler
  • rechannel
  • midchannel
  • nanochannel
  • channelopathy
  • channelize
  • paleochannel
  • hemichannel
  • eigenchannel
  • sidechannel
  • macrochannel
  • channelizer
  • enchannel
  • chanop
  • cross-channel
  • chans
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