canyon

US /ˈkænjən/ UK /ˈkænjən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a deep gorge with steep sides, often cut by a river

The river had carved a vast canyon through the rock.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a deep gorge with steep... gorge ravinegulchchasmgulleydefile

Simplified etymology

Canyon entered English in the mid-19th century from Spanish cañón, meaning “tube,” which derives from Latin canna, “cane, reed, or tube.”

Etymology

From Spanish cañón ('tube, pipe, deep gorge'), an augmentative of caño ('tube'), from caña ('reed, cane'), from Latin canna ('reed').

cañón Spanish canna Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Nature & Landscape

External links

# canyon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkænjən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkænjən/

## Meanings
1. a deep gorge with steep sides, often cut by a river

## Examples
- The river had carved a vast canyon through the rock.

## Synonyms
- gorge
- ravine
- gulch
- chasm
- gulley
- defile

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cañón
- Root: canna

## Etymology
From Spanish cañón ('tube, pipe, deep gorge'), an augmentative of caño ('tube'), from caña ('reed, cane'), from Latin canna ('reed').

## AI Etymology
Canyon comes from Spanish cañón ('tube, pipe, deep gorge'), an augmentative of caño ('tube'), from caña ('reed, cane'), from Latin canna ('reed'). The historical trail runs through cañón in Spanish and canna in Latin. Used as a noun, canyon now means "a deep gorge with steep sides, often cut by a river", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Nature & Landscape

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