Etymograph

English

canaille

Canaille comes from Italian canaglia, from Latin canis ‘a dog, a hound (animal)’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-1‘livestock’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱu2‘livestock’uncertain*u-stem of *peḱ-
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱwṓ3‘dog’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanēs3
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanis3‘a dog, a hound (animal)’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*canālia3reconstructed
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentcanaglia3
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600canaille3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1553canaille3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péḱu
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ, which cites Hamp
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English canaille
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1553, Ambroise Paré, The Journey to Hesdin: “I was on a rampart watching the enemy pitch…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péḱu‘livestock’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱuWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ, which cites Hamp‘livestock’uncertain*u-stem of *peḱ-
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱwṓWiktionary, English canaille‘dog’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanēsWiktionary, English canaille
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanisWiktionary, English canaille‘a dog, a hound (animal)’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*canāliaWiktionary, English canaillereconstructed
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentcanagliaWiktionary, English canaille
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600canailleWiktionary, English canaille
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1553canailleWiktionary, English canaille. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1553, Ambroise Paré, The Journey to Hesdin: “I was on a rampart watching the enemy pitch…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’

fight, fellow, peculiar, fax, feudal, fawn, fain, 24 more

through Proto-Indo-European *péḱu ‘livestock’

fee, feud, feu, pec, pecuniary, 12 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ ‘dog’

hound, cynical, poodle, cynic, 9 more

through Latin canis ‘a dog, a hound (animal)’

kennel, canine, chenille, 8 more

Today it means

noun The lowest class of people; the rabble; the vulgar.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “canaille”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *péḱu, Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- / canaille

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