canal

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /kəˈnɛl/ UK /kəˈnæl/ See IPA manual

Freq #6447

Meanings

1

noun
A long, narrow channel of water made by people for boats or for carrying water to fields.

We took a slow boat ride along the old canal through the city.
2

noun
A tube or passage inside the body or a plant.

The dentist said the infection had reached the root canal of my tooth.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a tube or passage inside... channel

Word family

Forms canals

Derived forms canalagecanaliculecanaliferouscanaliformcanalise canalizecanallercanalmancanalogramcanalographycanalolithcanalolithiasis

Related forms canalizationchannel channelization channelize

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cervical canal
the narrow passage through the cervix connecting the uterus and vagina

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Canal entered late Middle English through French from Latin canalis, meaning “pipe, groove, or channel.” Canalis derives from Latin canna, “cane, reed, or tube.”

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French canal, from Old French canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”), from canālis (“canal”), from canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of channel.

canal Middle French canālis Latin κάννα Ancient Greek 𒄀 akk 𒄀𒈾 sux

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# canal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /kəˈnɛl/
**IPA (UK):** /kəˈnæl/
**Frequency rank:** 6447

## Meanings
1. A long, narrow channel of water made by people for boats or for carrying water to fields.
2. A tube or passage inside the body or a plant.

## Examples
- We took a slow boat ride along the old canal through the city.
- The dentist said the infection had reached the root canal of my tooth.

## Derived Forms
- canalage
- canalicule
- canaliferous
- canaliform
- canalise
- canalize
- canaller
- canalman
- canalogram
- canalography
- canalolith
- canalolithiasis

## Related Forms
- canalization
- channel
- channelization
- channelize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: canal
- Root: canālis
- Root: κάννα
- Root: 𒄀
- Root: 𒄀𒈾

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French canal, from Old French canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”), from canālis (“canal”), from canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of channel.

## AI Etymology
Canal was borrowed from Middle French canal, from Old French canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”), from canālis (“canal”), from canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of channel.

## Topics
- People & Society

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