Etymograph

English

cane

Cane comes from Old French cane ‘sugar cane’, from Latin canna ‘reed’, and ultimately from Akkadian qanûm.

  1. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûmtransliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰkắnnă‘giant reed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanna‘reed’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cane‘sugar cane’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘bamboo, sugar cane, flax, or a similar simple-stemmed plant’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1670same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûmtransliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰkắnnă‘giant reed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanna‘reed’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cane‘sugar cane’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘bamboo, sugar cane, flax, or a similar simple-stemmed plant’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1670same form

Earliest quotation: 1670, John Dryden: “Judgelike thou sitt'st, to praise or to arraign /…”

Linked words

through Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝

canon, canister, kanon, 16 more

through Latin canna ‘reed’

canada, channel, canal, cannon, kennel, cannula, cannoli, canna, 8 more

Today it means

noun A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof: The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Akkadian qanûm / cane

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