LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

canālis

canālis m (genitive canālis)
Classical[kaˈnaː.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[kaˈnaː.lis]

Meaning

  1. a pipe, spout, channel, conduit
    mellaque harundineis inferre canalibus[…] and give them honey through reed pipesc. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.265
  2. a gutter, ditch
  3. a groove, channel, canal, conduit, duct

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecanāliscanālēs
genitivecanāliscanālium
dativecanālīcanālibus
accusativecanālemcanālēs
canālīs
ablativecanālī
canāle		canālibus
vocativecanāliscanālēs

cănālis, is, m. (rarely ante- and postclass., f., Cato, R. R. 18, 6; Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 2; 3, 7, 8; 3, 11, 2; Auct. Aetn. 127 and 149; cf. the dim. canaliculus, etc., Rudd. I. p. 25, n. 35) [kindr. with Sanscr. root khan, fodere, perfodere; Gr. χαίνω, χανῶ; Germ. gähnen, to yawn; or cf. canna, a pipe, reed; Fr. canale; Engl. canal; Sp. cañon].
I. In gen., a pipe, groove, channel, whether open or closed, esp. a water-pipe or channel, a conduit, a canal, Cato, R. R. l. l.; Varr. R. R. l. l.; Verg. G. 3, 330; Caes. B. C. 2, 10; Verg. G. 4, 265; Liv. 23, 31, 9; Suet. Claud. 20; Vitr. 8, 7; Plin. 6, 22, 24, § 82; Stat. S. 1, 2, 205; Auct. Aetn. 127 al.—Of a channel or trench in mines, Plin. 33, 4, 21, § 69.—Of the windpipe: animae, Plin. 8, 10, 10, § 29. —Of the cervix vulvae, Cels. 4, 1, § 38.—Of a sewer running to the cloaca: (fore) in medio propter canalem, Plaut. Curc. 4, 1, 15; cf. canalicolae.—
B. Trop. (not in Cic.), of vision: (pupillae) angustiae non sinunt vagari incertam aciem ac velut canali dirigunt, Plin. 11, 37, 55, § 148; cf.: cujus limine transmeato... jam canale directo perges ad regiam, App. M. 6, p. 180, 19.—And of the flow of speech: pleniore canali fluere, Quint. 11, 3, 167: certo canali cuncta decurrere, Gallicanus ap. Non. p. 198, 5.—
II. Esp.
A. In architecture, the groove or fluting upon Ionic capitals, Vitr. 3, 5, 7.— —
B. The channel for missiles in a catapult, Vitr. 10, 13, 7.—
C. In surgery, a splint for holding broken bones together, Cels. 8, 10, § 65 sq.—
D. A household utensil of unknown form and use, Dig. 33, 7, 12, § 21.—
E. A musical instrument, the reed-pipe, Calp. Ecl. 4, 76.

Origins

From *cannālis, from canna (“reed, cane”) + -ālis (adjectival suffix).

Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesecalefrom Old Galician-Portuguese cãal
  • Portuguesecalfrom Old Galician-Portuguese cãal
  • Portuguesecanlefrom Old Galician-Portuguese cãal
  • Spanishcanalfrom Old Spanish canal
  • Asturiancanal
  • Galiciancanlefrom Old Galician-Portuguese cãal
  • Galiciancalfrom Old Galician-Portuguese cãal
  • Galiciancalefrom Old Galician-Portuguese cãal
  • Tagalogkanalfrom Old Spanish canal
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalancanal
  • Occitancanal
Elsewhere
  • Portuguesecalhafrom Vulgar Latin *canālia
  • Portuguesecanalfrom Old Galician-Portuguese canal
  • Danishkanal
  • Dutch Low Saxonknoal
  • Greekκανάλιfrom Koine Greek κανάλιον
  • Latviankanāls
  • Lithuaniankanalas
  • Norwegian Bokmålkanal
  • Norwegian Nynorskkanal
  • Old Frenchcanel
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiancanale
  • Corsicancanale
  • Dalmatiancanul
  • Istriotcanàl
  • Neapolitancanale
  • Siciliancanali
  • Venetancanal
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friuliancanâl
  • Ladincanal
  • Romanshchanal
  • Romanshchanel
  • Romanshcanal
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençalchenâ
  • Old Frenchchenel

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesCanalisCanalis (σωλήν), a channel or canal, is used, like its English derivatives, to signify a watercourse, whether open or closed, and next any other passa…

Quick answers

What does canālis mean in Latin?
canālis, a noun, means “a pipe, spout, channel, conduit; a gutter, ditch; a groove, channel, canal, conduit, duct”.
What is the genitive of canālis?
The genitive singular is canālis. canālis is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce canālis?
In classical Latin, [kaˈnaː.lɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [kaˈnaː.lis].