Where does “can” come from?

can (Occitan) comes from Old Occitan can, from Latin quantus, from Proto-Italic *kʷijentos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷíh₂onts.

can (Occitan): dog, hound

Definitions

  1. dog, hound

Ancestry of “can”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Occitancanwhen
2Latinquantushow much, how many; how big
3Proto-Italic*kʷijentos—
4Proto-Indo-European*kʷíh₂onts—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *kʷíh₂onts →Every word from Proto-Italic *kʷijentos →Every word from Latin quantus →