/kəˈnæl/, /kəˈnɛl/, /kəˈnɔːl/
OriginBorrowed from Middle French canal, from Old French canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”), from canālis (“canal”), from canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of channel.
- An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
- A tubular channel within the body or within a plant.
“The fossilised jaw of T. trusleri has a huge canal running through it and that’s believed to have carried all the nerve and related tissue needed for the sense of electroception.”
- One of the faint, hazy markings resembling straight lines on early telescopic images of the surface of Mars; see Martian canals
- To dig an artificial waterway in or to (a place), especially for drainage
“In the mangrove-type salt marsh, the entire marsh must be canaled or impounded.”
- To travel along a canal by boat
“Near Rotterdam we canalled by Delfthaven.”
Formscanals(plural) · canals(present, singular, third-person) · canalling(participle, present) · canalled(participle, past) · canalled(past) · Canals(plural)