Borrowed from Russian кана́ва (kanáva). Doublet of kanaali. Further etymology * Russian кана́ва (kanáva) from Polish kanał, from Italian canale, from Latin canalis, from canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”). * According to SSA, the word was first used in the eastern Finnish dialects, and its wider adoption in Standard Finnish may have been inspired by media coverage of the Saimaa Canal, when it was under construction (1844–1855), particularly writings on the periodical Maamiehen Ystävä and another periodical simply named Kanava (published 1845–1847). NSES too discusses the later publication, although not whether it had any influence on the word's usage (although such can be implied based on its mention in the aforementioned work, as it is an etymological dictionary).