English
canaille
Canaille comes from Italian canaglia, from Latin canis ‘a dog, a hound (animal)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱwṓ‘dog’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanēs
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanis‘a dog, a hound (animal)’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*canāliareconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentcanaglia
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600canaille
- Englishearliest quotation 1553same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱwṓ‘dog’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanēs
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanis‘a dog, a hound (animal)’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*canāliareconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentcanaglia
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600canaille
- Englishearliest quotation 1553same form
Earliest quotation: 1553, Ambroise Paré, The Journey to Hesdin: “I was on a rampart watching the enemy pitch…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’
fight, fellow, peculiar, fax, feudal, fawn, fain, 24 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péḱu ‘livestock’
fee, feud, feu, pec, pecuniary, 12 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ ‘dog’
hound, cynical, poodle, cynic, 9 more
through Latin canis ‘a dog, a hound (animal)’
Today it means
noun The lowest class of people; the rabble; the vulgar.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ / canaille