Canada (English)

Where does "Canada" come from?

The English name 'Canada' was borrowed from French 'Canada'[1], which derived it from the Laurentian word 'kanata', meaning 'village' or 'settlement'[1][2]. This Laurentian term ultimately traces back to the Proto-North Iroquoian root '*-nat-'[1][3].

Full etymology tree

• Canada (English), 'A country in North America. Capital: Ottawa. Largest city: Toronto.'
  • borrowed Canada (French), 'Canada (a country in North America)'
    • derived kanata (Laurentian), 'village, settlement'
      • derived *-nat- (Proto-North Iroquoian), 'camp'

Ancestors

• Canada (French)
• kanata (Laurentian)
• *-nat- (Proto-North Iroquoian)

Cognates and doublets

• gana꞉dá꞉yęʼ (Onondaga)

Descendants and derived words

• Atlantic Canada (English)
• blame Canada (English)
• Canada balsam (English)
• Canada Bay (English)
• Canada Day (English)
• Canada Dry (English)
• Canada East (English)
• Canada goose (English)
• Canada jay (English)
• Canada lily (English)
• Canada lynx (English)
• Canada mayflower (English)

Related words

• territory (English)

Sources

1. Canada (English) - Wiktionary
2. Canada (French) - Wiktionary
3. kanata (Laurentian) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris