Etymograph

English

canna

Canna comes from Latin canna ‘reed’, and goes back to Akkadian qanûm.

  1. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûm1transliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘reed, cane’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰ1kắnnă‘reed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanna1‘reed’
  4. mulmodernCanna1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2000canna1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English canna
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes: “A palisade of Canary palms formed an honour guard…”.

Lineage

  1. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûmWiktionary, English cannatransliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘reed, cane’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰWiktionary, English cannakắnnă‘reed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcannaWiktionary, English canna‘reed’
  4. mulmodernCannaWiktionary, English canna
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2000cannaWiktionary, English canna. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes: “A palisade of Canary palms formed an honour guard…”

Linked words

through Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 ‘reed, cane’

canon, canister, kanon, 14 more

through Latin canna ‘reed’

channel, canada, canal, cannon, cane, kennel, cannula, cannoli, 7 more

Another origin of canna

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnaną‘to know, to be familiar with, to recognise’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kunnan‘to recognise’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cunnan‘to know how’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150can(n)
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cunnen‘to be able, know how’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500can
  8. Scotsc. 1450–presentcan
  9. Scotsc. 1450–presentcannae‘cannot’
  10. Englishtodaycanna

Another origin of canna

  1. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEqanûmtransliteratedcuneiform qanûm, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘reed’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ννᾰ‘reed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanna‘a reed, cane’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentcanna‘cane’
  5. Englishtodaycanna

Today it means

noun Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “canna”. 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 / Akkadian qanûm / canna

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