English
channel
Channel comes from Latin canālis ‘groove’, from canna ‘reed, cane’, and ultimately from Akkadian qanûm.
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûmtransliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration‘reed’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰ‘reed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanna‘reed’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanālis‘groove’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400chanel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1790channel
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûmtransliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration‘reed’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰ‘reed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanna‘reed’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanālis‘groove’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400chanel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1790channel
Earliest quotation: 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France: “At best, he is but a channel to convey…”
Linked words
through Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 ‘reed’
canon, canister, kanon, 16 more
through Latin canna ‘reed, cane’
canada, cannon, cane, cannula, canna, cannoli, 8 more
through Latin canālis ‘groove’
Another origin of channel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chanelen
- Englishtodaychannel
Today it means
noun The hollow bed of running waters; (also) the bed of the sea or other body of water.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Akkadian qanûm / channel