From Greek 'konopeion' (bed with mosquito net), from 'konops' (mosquito) — a canopy was originally just a bug net.
Definition
A covering hung or held above a throne, bed, or person; the uppermost layer of branches in a forest.
The Full Story
Greek1300swell-attested
From Medieval Latin 'canopeum,' from Latin 'cōnōpēum' (a mosquito net, a curtained bed), from Greek 'kōnōpeion' (a bed hung with mosquito netting, a couch protected by nets), from 'kōnōps' (a gnat, a mosquito, literally a cone-face). TheGreek compound kōnōps parses as 'kōnos' (cone) + 'ōps' (face, eye) — referring to the pointed proboscis of the mosquito. The canopy originated as purely practical: a net drapedover a sleeping
Did you know?
A canopy was originally just a mosquito net over a bed — the royal and ceremonial canopy developed from this humble insect-repelling origin.
English in the fourteenth century. The rainforest 'canopy' (the uppermost layer of vegetation forming a continuous overhead cover) is an ecological metaphor from the same source. Key roots: cano (Greek: "From Medieval Latin 'canopeum,' from Lat").
cōnōpēum(Latin (mosquito net, curtained couch — direct source))kōnōpeion (κωνωπεῖον)(Greek (mosquito-netted couch — origin of Latin form))kōnōps (κώνωψ)(Greek (mosquito, gnat — the insect that named the canopy))canopée(French (forest canopy — parallel modern sense))baldachin(Italian/English (related ceremonial overhead covering — functional synonym))