"C" Word Origins

candidature

Origin

From French candidature, equivalent to candidate + -ure.

candidly

Origin

From candid + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

candle

Latin

From Old English candel, borrowed from Latin candela, from candere, "to shine" — the same root behind "candid" and "candela".

candlelight

Old English

A straightforward compound of candle + light, dating back to Old English.

candlelit

Origin

From candle + lit.

candlemaker

Origin

From candle + maker.

candlepower

Origin

From candle + power.

candlestick

Old English

From Old English candelsticca, a compound of candle + stick.

candor

Latin

From Latin candor, meaning "brightness" or "whiteness," from candere, "to shine" — the idea of a bright, unclouded honesty.

candour

Latin

From Latin candor meaning brightness or whiteness, from candere to shine; the sense of openness developed from the idea of clarity.

candy

Old French

From Old French sucre candi, "candied sugar," ultimately traced back through Arabic and Persian to a Sanskrit word for a piece of sugar.

candyman

Origin

From candy + -man.

cane

Ancient Greek

From Old French cane, "sugar cane," from Latin canna, "reed," ultimately from an Ancient Greek word borrowed from Akkadian. Related to "channel" and "canal."

canid

Origin

By surface analysis, an appellativization from Canid(ae) minus -ae (a pattern that recurs with many -idae names).

canine

Latin

From Latin caninus, "of dogs," from canis, "dog."

canistel

Origin

From dialectal variant of Spanish canastillo (“small basket”), from Latin canistellum, diminutive of canistrum (“basket”).

canister

Latin

From Latin canistrum, a woven basket, borrowed into Middle English as canustyr.

canker

Latin

From Old English cancer, "cancer" or "crab," ultimately from Latin cancer. A doublet of "cancer" and "chancre."

cankered

Origin

From Middle English cankered, y-cancred, past participle of Middle English cankren, equivalent to canker + -ed.

Cann

Old English

* As an Irish surname, reduced from McCann. * As an English surname, from Cann in Dorset. The place name could be from Old English can, referring to a deep valley. * Americanized from Kann, Kahn.

cannabis

Ancient Greek

A learned borrowing from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek kánnabis, "hemp." A doublet of "canvas."

Cannae

Latin

Borrowed from Latin Cannae.

Cannes

French

Borrowed from French Cannes, from Occitan Canas or Occitan Cànoas (alternative spelling of Canas).

cannibalism

Spanish

From "cannibal" plus the suffix "-ism"; "cannibal" traces back through Spanish to a Caribbean people's name recorded by early explorers.

cannoli

Italian

Borrowed from Italian cannoli, the plural of cannolo.

cannon

Ancient Greek

From Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna ("reed"), ultimately from Ancient Greek and Akkadian words for reed. A doublet of "canyon."

cannonball

Origin

From "cannon" plus "ball," describing the round shot fired from a cannon.

cannoneer

Origin

Borrowed from French canonnier, with the ending reshaped to English -eer (suffix forming agent nouns denoting people associated with, concerned with, or engaged in specified activities). Canonnier is derived from Middle French cannonier, canonnier, from canon (“cannon”) (from cane (from Old French cane (“tube”), from Latin canna (“cane; reed; something resembling a cane”), from Ancient Greek κᾰ́ννᾰ (kắnnă, “giant reed (Arundo donax)”), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm, “reed”)) + -on (augmentative suffix)) + -ier (suffix denoting a profession). By surface analysis, cannon + -eer.

cannonry

Origin

From cannon + -ry.

cannot

Middle English

From Middle English can not, cannot, cannouȝt, etc. (compare Old English ne cann), equivalent to can + not.

cannula

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin cannula, canula (“tubular surgical instrument”), from Latin cannula (“reed; small reed- or tube-shaped object”), from canna (“cane; reed; object made from or shaped like a cane or reed”) + -ula (feminine form of -ulus (diminutive suffix). Canna is derived from Ancient Greek κᾰ́ννᾰ (kắnnă, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm, “cane; reed”). The plural form cannulae is borrowed from Late Latin cannulae.

cannular

Origin

Blend of can + annular.

cannulate

Origin

From cannula + -ate (suffix forming verbs).

cannulation

Origin

From cannula + -ation.

cannulise

Origin

From cannula + -ise.

cannulize

Origin

From cannula + -ize (suffix forming verbs indicating the doing of what is denoted by the adjectives or nouns to which the suffix is attached).

canny

Old English

From Northern English dialect, built on "can" in the old sense "to know how to," related to Old English cunnan.

canoe

Spanish · 1500

Adopted in the 1500s from Spanish canoa, from an Indigenous Caribbean (Taíno) word for a dugout boat.

canoeing

Origin

From canoe + -ing.

canon

Latin

From Latin canonicus, ultimately from Greek kanon, "rule" or "standard."

canonical

Origin

From Middle English canonycal, from Medieval Latin canōnicālis. By surface analysis, canon + -ical.

canonize

Origin

From Late Middle English canonizen (“to declare as a saint; to appoint to an ecclesiastical office”), from Old French canonisier (modern French canoniser (“to canonize”)), or from its etymon Medieval Latin, Late Latin canōnizāre, the present active infinitive of Latin canōnizō (“to recognize as a saint, canonize; to declare as authoritative or official”), from Latin canōn (“measuring line; (figurative) precept, rule, canon; authorized catalogue”) + -izō (suffix forming verbs). The English word is analysable as canon (“general principle, rule; authoritative group of works; catalogue of saints canonized in the Roman Catholic Church”) + -ize.

canoodle

Origin

The origin of the verb is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested: * From a blend of ca(ress) + noodle (“to engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time; to mess around, to play”). * From German knuddeln (“to cuddle; (originally) to embrace tightly”); or related to Low German knuddle (“a clump, a knot”), a diminutive of knude, related to Old High German knodo, knoto (“a knot”) (modern German Knoten (“knot”)); ultimate etymology unknown. Compare also Norwegian Bokmål knulle (“to fuck”), Swedish knulla (“to fuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *knuzlijaną (“to beat; to mash”) (and also compare the semantics of the Scandinavian cognates of fuck). The noun is probably derived from the verb.

canopied

Origin

From canopy + -ed.

canopy

Ancient Greek

From Old French conopé, ultimately from Ancient Greek konopeion, "mosquito net" — the original canopies were nets hung over beds to keep insects away.

cant

Latin

From Latin cantare, "to sing," probably through Old French. A doublet of "chant."

cantaloupe

Italian

From Italian Cantalupo, a former papal estate near Rome where the melon was reportedly first grown in Europe.

cantankerous

Origin

Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous.