Link Centre Dictionary

canny

UK/ˈkæni/ US/ˈkæni/ rare

adjective

1.

showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others

  • “a cagey lawyer”
  • “too clever to be sound”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Northern English dialect, from can (“to know”) ( + -y), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (“to be able, know how to”), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”). Compare Scots canny, English cunny, Old English cann (“knowledge, assertion”). More at can, cunning.

Phrases

  • ca' canny

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.