From Spanish (1834), from Akkadian 'qanū' ("reed").
A deep gorge, typically one with a river flowing through it; a large, deep valley with very steep sides.
From American Spanish 'cañón' (a pipe, tube, gorge, canyon), augmentative of Spanish 'caña' (a reed, cane), from Latin 'canna' (reed, cane), from Greek 'kánna' (κάννα, reed), ultimately from Akkadian 'qanū' (reed) or a related Semitic source. The metaphor is strikingly physical: a canyon is a giant tube or pipe through which water flows — an enormous hollow reed carved through rock. American English adopted the word from Spanish explorers and settlers who named the dramatic landscapes of the American Southwest. Key roots: canna (Latin: "reed, cane"), qanū (Akkadian: "reed").
'Canyon,' 'cannon,' 'canal,' 'cane,' and 'canon' (a church law) all trace back to the humble reed. A canyon is a giant reed-tube; a cannon is a metal tube; a canal is a channel; and a 'canon' comes from the reed used as a measuring stick. One Akkadian word for 'reed' from 4,000 years ago shaped how we name geography, weapons