Etymograph

English

canny

Canny comes from English can ‘to know’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’root named by Wiktionary
  2. English1500–presentcan1‘to know’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1723-1737canny1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English canny
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1723-1737, Allan Ramsay, Love Inviting Reason: “O! as thou art bonny, be prudent and canny,”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, English canny‘to recognise’root named by Wiktionary
  2. English1500–presentcanWiktionary, English canny‘to know’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1723-1737cannyWiktionary, English canny. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1723-1737, Allan Ramsay, Love Inviting Reason: “O! as thou art bonny, be prudent and canny,”

The story

Northern English dialect, from can (‘to know’) ( + -y), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (‘to be able, know how to’), from Old English cunnan (‘to know how to, be able to’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’

know, could, can, note, normal, notice, recognize, ignore, recognition, narrative, glory, con, noble, ken, notion, keen, cognitive, norm, ignorant, diagnostic, notorious, notation, nobility, cognition, prognosis, narration, quaint, cunning, gnome, notoriety, notary, incognito, agnostic, connoisseur, uncouth, kith, gnosis, recognizance, cognizance, cun, 91 more

Today it means

adj Careful, prudent, cautious.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “canny”. 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 *ǵneh₃- / canny

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