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cannon

/ˈkæn.ən/ noun

In Latin: tormentum, pyrobolus Wiktionary

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

  1. A large artillery gun that is usually on wheels.
  2. Heavy gun fired from a tank.
  3. (Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm.

verb

  1. Make a cannon.
  2. Fire a cannon.

Origin

Attested from around 1400 as Middle English canon, canoun, from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na) (for more, see cane). Doublet of canyon. This spelling was not fixed until about 1800.

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