canvas

[ kan-vuh s ]

/ ˈkæn vəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR canvas ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a closely woven, heavy cloth of cotton, hemp, or linen, used for tents, sails, etc.

a piece of this or similar material on which a painting is made.

a painting on canvas.

a tent, or tents collectively.

sailcloth.

sails collectively.

any fabric of linen, cotton, or hemp of a coarse loose weave used as a foundation for embroidery stitches, interlining, etc.

the floor of a boxing ring traditionally consisting of a canvas covering stretched over a mat.

Trademark.

(initial capital letter) the brand name of an open-source learning management system, launched in 2011.

Nearby words

Idioms

under canvas,

Nautical. with set sails.
in tents; in the field: the troops under canvas.

Origin of canvas

1225–75; Middle English canevas < Anglo-French, Old North French < Vulgar Latin *cannabāceus (noun use of adj.), equivalent to Latin cannab(is) hemp + -āceus -aceous

Related formscan·vas·like, adjective

Can be confusedcanvas canvass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for canvas

The sounds she performs from the violins on canvas replicate her idea of sounds found in the cosmos.
The Tiniest Jackson Pollock|Justin Jones|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Picasso worked from the photograph to create the blocked, jagged shapes he painted on canvas.
Revealing The Unseen Picasso|Justin Jones|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It tries to create a canvas on which people project and create their own fears.
Sex, Blood, and Screaming: Blackout’s Dark Frights|Tim Teeman|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The movement was a willful, angry child, though, exploding away from “art” and from the canvas in particular.
The Life and Art of Radical Provocateur—and Commune Leader—Otto Muehl|Anthony Haden-Guest|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“I was really interested in adding fabrics onto my canvas,” she said, which inspired her to attend sewing camp.
New York Fashion Week's Teen Sensation: Isabella Rose Taylor, 13, Stages A Sartorial Revolution|Justin Jones|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two sad-robed sisters looked on with the placidity of canvas saints.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
Rapidly and unerringly the bold strokes grated across the canvas.
Thorley Weir|E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson
I know many a bigger craft wouldn't hold up her canvas under such a gale.'
Maurice Tiernay Soldier of Fortune|Charles James Lever
The canvas fell into festoons, and the pilot called, "All ready forrard?"
The Wreck of the Grosvenor, Volume 1 of 3|William Clark Russell
I'll look at it presently; but, meanwhile, I must lose no time in transferring you to canvas.
The Boy Artist.|F.M. S.

British Dictionary definitions for canvas

canvas

/ (ˈkænvəs) /

noun

a heavy durable cloth made of cotton, hemp, or jute, used for sails, tents, etc
(as modifier)a canvas bag

a piece of canvas or a similar material on which a painting is done, usually in oils
a painting on this material, esp in oils

a tent or tents collectively

nautical any cloth of which sails are made

nautical the sails of a vessel collectively

any coarse loosely woven cloth on which embroidery, tapestry, etc, is done

the canvas the floor of a boxing or wrestling ring

rowing the tapering covered part at either end of a racing boat, sometimes referred to as a unit of lengthto win by a canvas

under canvas

in tents
nautical with sails unfurled

Word Origin for canvas

C14: from Norman French canevas, ultimately from Latin cannabis hemp

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for canvas

canvas

"sturdy cloth made from hemp or flax," mid-14c., from Anglo-French canevaz, Old North French canevach, Old French chanevaz, literally "made of hemp, hempen," noun use of Vulgar Latin adjective *cannapaceus "made of hemp," from Latin cannabis, from Greek kannabis "hemp," a Scythian or Thracian word (see cannabis).

Latin adjectives in -aceus sometimes were made in Romanic languages into nouns of augmentative or pejorative force. Especially as a surface for oil paintings from c.1700; hence "an oil painting" (1764).