Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Spanish ·1830s
Canyon
from cañón
- Meaning
- Literally "tube" or "pipe" — a deep, narrow gorge shaped like one.
- Source word
- cañón
- Route into English
- Adopted from Mexican Spanish by US settlers in the 1830s as they moved west; the English "ñ"-less spelling is a convenience, not a translation.
- Arrived
- 1830s
From Spanish
American Spanish, not peninsular Spanish, provided most of the modern loanwords — through US expansion westward and Latin American trade.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.