canal

Borrowed 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.

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /kəˈnæl/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /kəˈnæl/, /kəˈnɛl/
• Rhymes: -æl

canal (plural canals)

1. An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
2. (anatomy, botany) A tubular channel within the body or within a plant.
3. (astronomy) One of the faint, hazy markings resembling straight lines on early telescopic images of the surface of Mars; see Martian canals

• Occasionally applied to similar natural waterways, such as Hood Canal.

• channel
• channelization
• channelize
• canalization

• → Scottish Gaelic: canàl

canal (third-person singular simple present canals, present participle canaling or canalling, simple past and past participle canaled or canalled)

1. To dig an artificial waterway in or to (a place), especially for drainage
   • 1968, Louisiana State University, Proceedings‎^[1], page 165:

     In the mangrove-type salt marsh, the entire marsh must be canaled or impounded.

2. To travel along a canal by boat
   • 1905, William Yoast Morgan, A Journey of a Jayhawker, page 211:

     Near Rotterdam we canalled by Delfthaven.

• Alcan, Clana, Nalca

Inherited from Latin canālis.

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnal/ [kaˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ca‧nal

canal f (plural canales)

1. canal (artificial waterway)

Inherited from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [kəˈnal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kaˈnal]
• Hyphenation: ca‧nal

canal m (plural canals)

1. canal (artificial passage for water)
2. channel
3. (anatomy) channel, tract

   canal digestiu ― digestive tract

canal f (plural canals)

1. roof gutter

   Synonyms: canaló, ràfec

2. (architecture) groove, fluting (of a column, etc.)

   Synonyms: estria, solc

3. crease, fold
4. (bookbinding) fore edge
5. carcass

• “canal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “canal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “canal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “canal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Borrowed from Latin canālis. Doublet of chenal.

• IPA^(key): /ka.nal/

• Audio; “un canal”:

  (file)

canal m (plural canaux)

1. canal
2. channel (broadcasting: specific radio frequency or band of frequencies)

• canal nommé

• chenal

• → Persian: کانال (kânâl)
• → Romanian: canal
• → Turkish: kanal

• chaîne

• “canal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• lança

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnal/ [kɑˈnɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: ca‧nal

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese canal (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria): cana (“cane, reed”) +‎ -al. Cognate with Spanish cañal.

• canar

canal m (plural canais)

1. (dated) fish-weir; place or installation for fishing, on a river

   Synonyms: caneiro, pesqueira

   • 1375, A. López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 385:

     V casares en Cesar os quaes fforon de Mayor Aras moller de Martin Sanchez Xarpa com huum paaço et con huum canal enno Tamare.

     5 farmhouses in Cesar, which belonged to Maior Aras, wife of Martín Sánchez Xarpa, with a manor and a fishery on the river Tambre

Learned borrowing from Latin canalis. Doublet of canle and cal.

canal m (plural canais)

1. canal
2. channel

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “canal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “canal”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “canar”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “canal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “canal”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “canal”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

From Old French canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”).

canal m (plural canaux)

1. (Jersey) canal

From Old Galician-Portuguese canal, from Latin canālis (“canal”), from canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). This form may possibly be an early borrowing or semi-learned term; compare the fully inherited doublet cale, and related calha.

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: ca‧nal

canal m (plural canais)

1. ditch

   Synonyms: canaleta, vala, valeta

2. canal (artificial waterway)
3. (radio) channel (broadcasting: specific radio frequency or band of frequencies)
4. (television) television channel

• (canal): canal do Panamá

• cale
• calha

Borrowed from French canal, Latin canālis.

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnal/

• Audio:

  (file)

canal n (plural canale or canaluri)

1. (plural canaluri) canal
2. channel

• “canal”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Inherited from Old Spanish canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”).

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnal/ [kaˈnal]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ca‧nal

canal m (plural canales)

1. canal, flume, waterway (artificial)
2. channel (wide strait)
3. (communication) channel
4. (chemistry) channel
5. cleavage

• (canal): canal de Panamá
• (channel): canal de Jamaica
• (channel): canal de la Mancha
• (channel): canal de Mozambique
• (channel): canal del Norte (“North Channel”)

• → Tagalog: kanal

• “canal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

From Latin canālis.

canal m (plural canałi)

1. canal
2. channel (all senses)