canvas

Where does the word "canvas" come from? It comes from Greek cannabis, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Canvas’s story begins in Greek: cannabis meant “hemp.” Hemp, the plant whose coarse fiber was woven into heavy cloth. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as canevas. Carried into French for the coarse hemp-woven fabric. It reached English by 1300s as canvas. Settled as the English word for the heavy woven fabric used for sails and painting. Today, canvas means a strong, coarse fabric used for sails, tents, and painting surfaces.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient cannabis "hemp", hemp, the plant whose coarse fiber was woven into heavy cloth.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval canevas "a coarse hemp fabric", carried into French for the coarse hemp-woven fabric.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s canvas "a heavy, coarse woven fabric", settled as the English word for the heavy woven fabric used for sails and painting.