Online Etymology Dictionary

candlelight (n.): Old English candelleoht; from candle + light (n.).
Candlemass: Old English candelmæsse (from candle + mass (n.2)), feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary (Feb. 2), celebrated with many candles, corresponding to Celtic pagan Imbolc.
candlestick (n.): Old English candelsticca; see candle + stick (n.).
candor (n.): "openness of mind, impartiality, frankness," c. 1600, from Latin candor "purity, openness," originally "whiteness," from candere "to shine, to be white" (see candle). Borrowed earlier in English (c. 1500) with the Latin literal sense "extreme whiteness."
candour (n.): chiefly British English spelling of candor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or.
candy (n.): late 13c., "crystalized sugar," from Old French çucre candi "sugar candy," ultimately from Arabic qandi, from Persian qand "cane sugar," probably from Sanskrit khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (compare Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense").
candy (v.): 1530s, from candy (n.). Related: Candied; candying.
candy-striper (n.): young female volunteer nurse at a hospital, by 1962, so called from the pink-striped design of her uniform, similar to patterns on peppermint candy.
candyass: also candy-ass, 1961, from candy (n.) + ass (n.2). Perhaps originally U.S. military.
cane (n.): late 14c., from Old French cane "reed, cane, spear" (13c., Modern French canne), from Latin canna "reed, cane," from Greek kanna, perhaps from Assyrian qanu "tube, reed" (compare Hebrew qaneh, Arabic qanah "reed"), from Sumerian gin "reed." But Tucker finds this borrowing "needless" and proposes a native Indo-European formation from a root meaning "to bind, bend." Sense of "walking stick" in English is 1580s.
cane (v.): "to beat with a walking stick," 1660s, from cane (n.). Related: Caned; caning.
canebreak (n.): 1770, American English, from cane (n.) + break (n.).
Canfield (n.): type of solitaire, 1912, from U.S. gambler J.A. Canfield (1855-1914).
canicular (adj.): late 14c., in reference to the "dog days," from Latin canicularis "pertaining to the dog days," from canicula "little dog," also "the Dog Star," diminutive of canis (see canine). Also see heliacal; Sirius. In literal use ("pertaining to a dog") historically only as attempt at humor.
canid (n.): member of the Canidae family (dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals), 1889, from Modern Latin Canidae, from Latin canis "dog" (see canine (n.)) + -idae.
canine (n.): "pointed tooth," late 14c., from Latin caninus "of the dog," genitive of canis "dog" (source of Italian cane, French chien), from PIE root *kwon- "dog" (source also of Greek kyon, Old English hund, Old High German hunt, Old Irish cu, Welsh ci, Sanskrit svan-, Avestan spa, Russian sobaka (apparently from an Iranian source, such as Median spaka), Armenian shun, Lithuanian šuo). The noun meaning "dog" is first recorded 1869.
canine (adj.): c. 1600, of teeth, from canine (n.) or Latin caninus. Meaning "pertaining to a dog or dogs" is from 1620s.
canister (n.): late 15c., "basket," from Latin canistrum "wicker basket" for bread, fruit, flowers, etc., from Greek kanystron "basket made from reed," from kanna (see cane (n.)). It came to mean "metal receptacle" (1711) through influence of can (n.). As short for canister shot, it is attested from 1801, so called for its casing.
canker (n.): late Old English cancer "spreading ulcer, cancerous tumor," from Latin cancer "malignant tumor," literally "crab" (see cancer); influenced in Middle English by Old North French cancre "canker, sore, abscess" (Old French chancre, Modern French chancre). The word was the common one for "cancer" until c. 1700. Also used since 15c. of caterpillars and insect larvae that eat plant buds and leaves. As a verb from late 14c. Related: Cankered; cankerous. Canker blossom is recorded from 1580s.
cannabis (n.): 1798, "common hemp," from Cannabis, Modern Latin plant genus named (1728), from Greek kannabis "hemp," a Scythian or Thracian word. Also source of Armenian kanap', Albanian kanep, Russian konoplja, Persian kanab, Lithuanian kanapes "hemp," and English canvas and possibly hemp. In reference to use of the plant parts as an intoxicant, from 1848. Related: Cannabic.
canned (adj.): 1859, "put up in a can," past participle adjective from can (v.2). Figuratively, of music, from 1904, originally a contemptuous term (associated with John Philip Sousa) for music played by automatic instruments.
cannery (n.): 1879, from can (v.2) + -ery.
Cannes: city on the French Riviera, perhaps from a pre-Indo-European word *kan, meaning "height." The film festival dates from 1946.
cannibal (n.): "human that eats human flesh," 1550s, from Spanish canibal, caribal "a savage, cannibal," from Caniba, Christopher Columbus' rendition of the Caribs' name for themselves (see Caribbean). The natives were believed to be anthropophagites. Columbus, seeking evidence that he was in Asia, thought the name meant the natives were subjects of the Great Khan. Shakespeare's Caliban (in "The Tempest") is from a version of this word, with -n- and -l- interchanged, found in Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1599). The Spanish word had reached French by 1515. Used of animals from 1796. An Old English word for "cannibal" was selfæta.
cannibalism (n.): 1796, from cannibal + -ism. Perhaps from French cannibalisme, from the same year.
cannibalistic (adj.): 1840, from cannibal + -istic. Elder but failing to flourish were cannibalic, cannibalish (both from 1824).
cannibalization (n.): by 1907, noun of action from cannibalize.
cannibalize (v.): 1798 (in Burke's memoirs), figurative, and meaning "be perverted into cannibalism," from cannibal + -ize. Meaning "take parts from one construction and use them in another" is from 1943, originally of military equipment. Related: Cannibalized; cannibalizing.
cannister (n.): obsolete form of canister.
cannon (n.): c. 1400, "tube for projectiles," from Anglo-French canon, Old French canon (14c.), from Italian cannone "large tube, barrel," augmentative of Latin canna "reed, tube" (see cane (n.)). Meaning "large ordnance piece," the main modern sense, is from 1520s. Spelling not differentiated from canon till c. 1800. Cannon fodder (1891) translates German kanonenfutter (compare Shakespeare's food for powder in "I Hen. IV").
cannon-ball (n.): also cannon ball, 1660s, from cannon (n.) + ball (n.1). As a type of dive, from 1905.
cannon-shot (n.): "distance a cannon will throw a ball," 1570s, from cannon (n.) + shot (n.).
cannonade (n.): "discharge of artillery," 1650s, from cannon + -ade. As a verb, from 1660s. Compare French canonnade (16c.), Italian cannonata. Related: Cannonaded; cannonading.
cannot (v.): c. 1400, from can (v.1) + not. Old English expressed the notion by ne cunnan.
cannula (n.): 1680s in surgical sense, from Latin cannula "small reed or pipe," diminutive of canna "reed, pipe" (see cane (n.)).
canny (adj.): 1630s, Scottish and northern English formation from can (v.1) in its sense of "know how to," + -y (2). "Knowing," hence, "careful." A doublet of cunning that flowed into distinct senses. Often used superciliously of Scots by their southern neighbors (and their American cousins).
The Canny Scot is so well known as scarcely to require description. He carries caution, cunning, and selfishness to excess. Deceitful when a purpose is to be accomplished, he is not habitually deceitful. One thing he never loses sight of--his own interest. But of his own interest he is not the most enlightened judge. ["The Natural History of Scotsmen," in "The Argosy," December 1865]
Related: Cannily; canniness.
canoe (n.): 1550s, originally in a West Indian context, from Spanish canoa, a term used by Columbus, from Arawakan (Haiti) canaoua. Extended to rough-made or dugout boats generally. Early variants in English included cano, canow, canoa, etc., before spelling settled down c. 1600.
canoe (v.): 1842, from canoe (n.). Related: Canoed; canoing.
canoeing (n.): 1870, verbal noun from canoe (v.). Related: Canoeist.
canola (n.): "rapeseed," a euphemistic name coined 1978, supposedly involving Canada, where it was developed, and the root of oil (n.).
canon (n.1): "church law," Old English canon, from Old French canon or directly from Late Latin canon "Church law," in classical Latin, "measuring line, rule," from Greek kanon "any straight rod or bar; rule; standard of excellence," perhaps from kanna "reed" (see cane (n.)). Taken in ecclesiastical sense for "decree of the Church." General sense of "standard of judging" is from c. 1600. Harold Bloom writes that "The secular canon, with the word meaning a catalog of approved authors, does not actually begin until the middle of the eighteenth century ...." ["The Western Canon," 1994]. Related: Canonicity.
canon (n.2): "clergyman," c. 1200, from Anglo-French canun, from Old North French canonie (Modern French chanoine), from Church Latin canonicus "clergyman living under a rule," noun use of Latin adjective canonicus "according to rule" (in ecclesiastical use, "pertaining to the canon"), from Greek kanonikos, from kanon "rule" (see canon (n.1)).
canonical (adj.): early 15c., "according to ecclesiastical law," from Medieval Latin canonicalis, from Late Latin canonicus "according to rule," in Church Latin, "pertaining to the canon" (see canon (n.1)). Earlier was canonial (early 13c.).
canonization (n.): late 14c., from Medieval Latin canonizationem (nominative canonizatio), noun of action from past participle stem of canonizare (see canonize).
canonize (v.): late 14c., "to place in the canon or calendar of saints," from Old French cannonisier and directly from Medieval Latin canonizare, from Late Latin canon "church rule" (see canon (n.1)). Related: Canonized; cannonizing.
canoodle (v.): "to indulge in caresses and fondling endearments" [OED], by 1850s, said to be U.S. slang, of uncertain origin. The earliest known sources are British, but they tend to identify the word as American. In the 1830s it seems to have been in use in Britain in a sense of "cheat" or "overpower." Related: Canoodled; canoodling.
Canopus (n.): bright southern star, 1550s, ultimately from Greek Kanopos, Kanobos perhaps from Egyptian Kahi Nub "golden earth." The association with "weight" found in the name of the star in some northern tongues may reflect the fact that it never rises far above the horizon in those latitudes. Also the name of a town in ancient lower Egypt (famous for its temple of Serapis), hence canopic jar, canopic vase, which often held the entrails of embalmed bodies (1878).
canopy (n.): late 14c., from Old French conope "bed-curtain" (Modern French canapé), from Medieval Latin canopeum, dissimilated from Latin conopeum, from Greek konopeion "Egyptian couch with mosquito curtains," from konops "mosquito, gnat," which is of unknown origin. The same word (canape) in French, Spanish, and Portuguese now means "sofa, couch." Italian canape is a French loan word.
canopy (v.): c. 1600, from canopy (n.). Related: Canopied; canopying.
cant (n.1): "insincere talk," 1709, earlier it was slang for "whining of beggars" (1640s), from the verb in this sense (1560s), from Old North French canter (Old French chanter) "to sing, chant," from Latin cantare, frequentative of canere "to sing" (see chant (v.)). Sense in English developed after 1680 to mean the jargon of criminals and vagabonds, thence applied contemptuously by any sect or school to the phraseology of its rival.
... Slang is universal, whilst Cant is restricted in usage to certain classes of the community: thieves, vagrom men, and -- well, their associates. ... Slang boasts a quasi-respectability denied to Cant, though Cant is frequently more enduring, its use continuing without variation of meaning for many generations. [John S. Farmer, Forewords to "Musa Pedestris," 1896]