cannon

Where does the word "cannon" come from? It comes from Greek kanna, passing through Latin and Italian before entering English (1400s).

Cannon’s story begins in Greek: kanna meant “reed.” A reed. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as canna. A reed or tube; 'cane' and 'canal' share the root. From there it passed into Italian as cannone by 1300s. 'big tube', one of the new gunpowder weapons of the 1300s. It reached English by 1400s as cannon. Came via French 'canon'. Today, cannon means a large heavy gun on wheels.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient kanna "reed", a reed.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient canna "reed, tube", a reed or tube; 'cane' and 'canal' share the root.
3. Stage 3 · Italian · 1300s cannone "big tube, cannon", 'big tube', one of the new gunpowder weapons of the 1300s.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1400s cannon "big gun", came via French 'canon'.