canvas

CEFRB2

/ˈkænvəs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Strong cloth used for tents, bags, or painting.

  2. 02

    noun

    The surface on which an artist paints.

Examples

  • Oil on canvas can never paint a petal so delicate.

  • This world is but canvas to our imaginations.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkanvɑs/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A mesh of loosely woven cotton strands or molded plastic to be decorated with needlepoint, cross-stitch, rug hooking, or other crafts.

  2. A piece of such cloth stretched across a frame on which one may paint an artwork.

  3. A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for paintings.

More examples

In context

  • She is painting a moonlight scene on the canvas.

  • The author takes rural midwestern life as a canvas for a series of tightly woven character studies

  • He spent the night under canvas.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The artist stretched a fresh blank over the wooden frame before beginning to paint.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English canevas, from Anglo-Norman, from Old Northern French canevas (compare Old French chanevas, chenevas) from a root derived from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis). Compare French canevas, resulting from a blend of the Old French and a Picard dialect word, itself from Old Northern French. Doublet of cannabis and hemp.