Quick answer
Canvas with one S is the heavy cloth — a painter's canvas, canvas shoes. Canvass with two S is a verb meaning to solicit votes, opinions or support, and also the noun for that activity. Political canvassing takes two S.
The core difference
A material and an activity, one letter apart.
- canvas — heavy woven cloth: oil on canvas, a canvas bag.
- canvass — solicit support or opinions: canvass the neighbourhood, canvass opinion.
How they connect
They are the same word historically. Canvass apparently developed from the practice of sifting through canvas cloth — hence examining or scrutinising, and from there soliciting. So the odd-looking verb has a logical descent from the fabric.
The other sense of canvass
It also means to examine thoroughly — canvass the options. That is closer to the original sifting sense than the electioneering one, and it appears in formal and legal writing.
Frequently asked questions
Which spelling is the cloth?
Canvas, with one S.
What does canvassing mean in politics?
Soliciting votes or support, usually door to door — spelled with two S.
Are the two words related?
Yes. Canvass appears to derive from sifting through canvas cloth, giving the sense of examining and then soliciting.
