English
canny
Canny comes from English can ‘to know’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to recognise’root as named
- English1500–presentcan‘to know’
- Englishearliest quotation 1723-1737canny
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to recognise’root as named
- English1500–presentcan‘to know’
- Englishearliest quotation 1723-1737canny
Earliest quotation: 1723-1737, Allan Ramsay, Love Inviting Reason: “O! as thou art bonny, be prudent and canny”.
Formed from -y
The story
Northern English dialect, from can (‘to know’) ( + -y), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (‘to be able, know how to’), from Old English cunnan (‘to know how to, be able to’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
know, could, can, note, normal, notice, recognize, ignore, recognition, narrative, glory, con, noble, ken, notion, keen, cognitive, norm, ignorant, diagnostic, notorious, notation, nobility, cognition, prognosis, narration, quaint, cunning, gnome, notoriety, notary, incognito, agnostic, connoisseur, uncouth, kith, gnosis, recognizance, cognizance, cun, 91 more
Today it means
adj Careful, prudent, cautious.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / canny