English
canasta
Canasta comes from Spanish canasta, from Latin canistrum ‘wicker basket’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek κάναστρον.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκάναστρον1‘basket of reeds’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanistrum2‘wicker basket’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cannastra2reconstructed
- Spanishc. 1500–presentcanasta3
- Englishearliest quotation 1949canasta3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin canistrum
- 2 Wiktionary, Spanish canasta
- 3 Wiktionary, English canasta
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1949, The Canasta Craze: “Groups of seven of a kind are called canastas,…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκάναστρονWiktionary, Latin canistrum‘basket of reeds’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanistrumWiktionary, Spanish canasta‘wicker basket’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cannastraWiktionary, Spanish canastareconstructed
- Spanishc. 1500–presentcanastaWiktionary, English canasta
- Englishearliest quotation 1949canastaWiktionary, English canasta. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1949, The Canasta Craze: “Groups of seven of a kind are called canastas,…”
The story
The game originates from Uruguay.
Linked words
through Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 ‘reed’
channel, canada, cane, cannula, cannoli, canna, 13 more
through Ancient Greek κάννα ‘reed’
canon, cannon, canal, kennel, kanon, 7 more
through Latin canistrum ‘wicker basket’
Today it means
noun A card game similar to rummy and played using two packs, where the object is to meld groups of the same rank.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “canasta”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin canistrum, Spanish canasta. 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 / Ancient Greek κάναστρον / canasta