canopy

[kan-uh-pee]

noun

plural

canopies 

1. a covering, usually of fabric, supported on poles or suspended above a bed, throne, exalted personage, or sacred object.

2. an overhanging projection or covering, as a long canvas awning stretching from the doorway of a building to a curb.

3. an ornamental, rooflike projection or covering.

4. Also called crown cover. Also called crown canopy;. the cover formed by the leafy upper branches of the trees in a forest.

5. the sky.

6. the part of a parachute that opens up and fills with air, usually made of nylon or silk.

7. the transparent cover over the cockpit of an airplane.

verb (used with object)

canopied, canopying 

1. to cover with or as with a canopy.

   Branches canopied the road.

canopy

/ ˈkænəpɪ /

noun

1. an ornamental awning above a throne or bed or held over a person of importance on ceremonial occasions

2. a rooflike covering over an altar, niche, etc

3. a roofed structure serving as a sheltered passageway or area

4. a large or wide covering, esp one high above

   the sky was a grey canopy

5. the nylon or silk hemisphere that forms the supporting surface of a parachute

6. the transparent cover of an aircraft cockpit

7. the highest level of branches and foliage in a forest, formed by the crowns of the trees

verb

1. (tr) to cover with or as if with a canopy

Other Word Forms

• supercanopy noun
• uncanopied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of canopy¹

1350–1400; Middle English canope < Medieval Latin canōpēum, variant of Latin cōnōpēum mosquito net < Greek kōnōpeîon bed with net to keep gnats off, equivalent to kṓnōp ( s ) gnat + -eion, neuter of -eios adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of canopy¹

C14: from Medieval Latin canōpeum mosquito net, from Latin cōnōpeum gauze net, from Greek kōnōpeion bed with protective net, from kōnōps mosquito

Example Sentences

A hot late-summer breeze blows across a Burbank parking lot as Lorde sits beneath a tattered canopy outside the rehearsal studio where she’s preparing for her latest world tour.

From Los Angeles Times

Members of Altadena Green, a group of arborists and landscape experts, estimate that the town known for its lush canopy of trees has lost at least 50% of its pre-fire canopy.

From Los Angeles Times

Grief, too, steers us, a cleansing ritual, as I recall each time my wife and I meander beneath Green-Wood’s leafy canopy, parakeets swooping and chattering overhead, or sit quietly in its hushed chapel.

From Los Angeles Times

They wake up each morning to reminders of apocalypse: blackened stumps and ghostly bare branches where a tree canopy used to be, and bald rocks and makeshift shelters where homes used to stand.

From Los Angeles Times

Retractable doors open onto a small pink and green courtyard, and, around the corner, a larger play space shaded by the building’s kaleidoscopic canopy.

From Los Angeles Times