canker C2+ Topic:Plants & Agriculture US /ˈkæŋkɚ/ UK /ˈkæŋkə/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like conquer /æ/ vs /ɑ/ Meanings 1 noun a spreading ulcer or plant sore; a corrupting influence Corruption was a canker eating at the heart of the institution. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a spreading ulcer or plant... ulcersoreblightcorruptionrotcancer Word family Derived forms cankeredcankerous Related forms cancer Etymology AI details From Old North French cancre, from Latin cancer ('crab, ulcer, malignant growth'); a doublet of cancer. cancre Old French cancer Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Plants & Agriculture Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # canker **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkæŋkɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkæŋkə/ ## Meanings 1. a spreading ulcer or plant sore; a corrupting influence ## Examples - Corruption was a canker eating at the heart of the institution. ## Synonyms - ulcer - sore - blight - corruption - rot - cancer ## Derived Forms - cankered - cankerous ## Related Forms - cancer ## Roots and Affixes - Root: cancre - Root: cancer ## Etymology From Old North French cancre, from Latin cancer ('crab, ulcer, malignant growth'); a doublet of cancer. ## AI Etymology Canker comes from Old North French cancre, from Latin cancer ('crab, ulcer, malignant growth'); a doublet of cancer. The historical trail runs through cancre in Old French and cancer in Latin. Used as a noun and verb, canker now means "a spreading ulcer or plant sore; a corrupting influence", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as cankered and cankerous and related forms such as cancer. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - Plants & Agriculture - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown