Where does “uncanny” come from?
Uncanny comes from English canny, which derives from English can (to be able), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European óynos (knowing, skilled).
uncanny (English): Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird
Definitions
- Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird
Ancestry of “uncanny”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | canny | Careful, prudent, cautious; Knowing, shrewd,... |
| 2 | English | can | To know how to; to be able to; May; to be... |
| 3 | Spanish | can | dog, hound |
| 4 | Latin | Canis | a dog, a hound animal |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | δρόμος | race, running; racetrack; course, path |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ός | Forms agentive or patientive adjectives and nouns from the o-grade of a verbal root |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | *-os | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ós | Creates agent nouns from verb stems, denoting... |