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canvas

Pronunciation: /ˈkæn.vəs/

The English word “canvas” has 10 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for paintings.
  2. A piece of such cloth stretched across a frame on which one may paint an artwork.
  3. A mesh of loosely woven cotton strands or molded plastic to be decorated with needlepoint, cross-stitch, rug hooking, or other crafts.
  4. A basis for creative work.
  5. A region on which graphics can be rendered.
  6. Sails in general.
  7. A tent.
  8. A rough draft or model of a song, air, or other literary or musical composition; especially one to show a poet the measure of the verses he is to make.
  9. Athletic shoes.

verb

  1. To cover (an area or object) with canvas.

Etymology

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.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.