From Taino 'canoa' — possibly the first New World word to enter European languages, recorded by Columbus in 1492.
A narrow, lightweight boat with pointed ends, propelled by paddling.
From Spanish canoa, borrowed from Taíno kanawa or Arawak kana:wa, denoting a dugout boat hollowed from a single tree trunk. Christopher Columbus recorded the word in his journal on 26 October 1492 during his first voyage to the Caribbean, making canoa one of the earliest New World loanwords to enter any European language. The Taíno original referred specifically to large oceangoing dugouts that could carry 40–150 people and were used for inter-island trade and warfare across the Caribbean. The word spread rapidly from Spanish into French (canoë, 1599), English (canoe, 1555), and other European languages. English initially used the Spanish spelling canoa before settling on canoe in the 17th century. Notably, the word has no Indo-European etymology
'Canoe' may be the first word from the Americas to enter a European language. Columbus wrote 'canoa' in his journal on October 26, 1492 — just two weeks after landfall. The Taino canoes were not the small vessels we picture today: some were massive dugouts carved from single tree trunks, up to 30 meters long, capable of carrying 150 people across open ocean between Caribbean islands.