Where does “canon” come from?

canon (Old French) comes from Italian cannone, from Italian canna, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα, from Akkadian 𒄀, from Sumerian 𒄀 — reed; a certain unit of length.

canon (Old French): tube; cannon

Definitions

  1. tube; cannon

Ancestry of “canon”, step by step

canon traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian cannone

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italiancannonecannon; ace; large tube or pipe
2Italiancannacane; barrel; rod
3LatincannaA reed, cane; Anything made of reed or cane;...
4Ancient Greekκάνναgiant reed; reed mat
5Akkadian𒄀reed; a certain unit of length
6Sumerian𒄀reed; a certain unit of length

via Old French cane

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcanetube
2Middle Low Germankāne—
3Old Saxon*kano—
4Proto-Italickanōto sing
5Proto-Germanickanôvessel, vat, tub; boat
6Proto-Indo-Europeangan-a vessel, tub; a vessel, vat, tub

via Latin canōn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latincanōna measuring line
2Ancient Greekκανώνrod, pole, bar; rods used in shields; type of rod...

Words derived from “canon”

Every word from Sumerian 𒄀 →Every word from Akkadian 𒄀 →Every word from Ancient Greek κάννα →