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Added 9 October 2026

canvas

/ˈkæn.vəs/ noun

Latin root: cannabis Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about canvas at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents).
An oil painting on canvas fabric.
The setting for a narrative or fictional or dramatic account.
the crowded canvas of history

verb

Cover with canvas.
She canvassed the walls of her living room so as to conceal the ugly cracks

Origin

From Middle English canevas, from Anglo-Norman, from Old Northern French canevas (compare Old French chanevas, chenevas) from a root derived from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis). Compare French canevas, resulting from a blend of the Old French and a Picard dialect word, itself from Old Northern French. Doublet of cannabis and hemp.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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