canela

See also: Canela, canëla, and canéla

Ambonese Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese chinela (“slipper”), from Italian cianella (dialectal), from Italian pianella, ultimately from Latin plānus.

Noun

canela

1. women's slipper part of traditional Ambonese clothing
2. traditional Ambonese women's clothing as a whole

References

• D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998), Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎^[1], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin candela. Doublet of the later borrowed form candela.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kəˈnɛ.lə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kəˈnə.lə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kaˈnɛ.la]

Noun

canela f (plural caneles)

1. (archaic or Valencia) alternative form of candela

Further reading

• “canela” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “canela”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Etymology

Attested since circa 1300. From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Latin cannella, diminutive of canna (“reed, cane”). Cognate with Portuguese canela, Spanish canilla, Catalan canell

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnɛla/ [kɑˈnɛ.lɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Hyphenation: ca‧ne‧la

Noun

canela m (plural canelas)

1. cane or pipe
   • c. 1300, R. Martínez López, editor, General Estoria. Versión gallega del siglo XIV, page 254:

     Et aquel jnstrumẽto cõ que tangia Mercurio era nouo, et avia em el sete canelas

     That instrument Mercury was playing with was new, and it has seven pipes in it

2. shin
3. shinbone
4. leg (of a sock)
5. cinnamon

Derived terms

• Canelas
• caneleira
• Caneliñas

References

• “canela”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “canela”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “canela”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “canela”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “canela”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “canela”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈnɛ.lɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈnɛ.lɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kaˈnɛ.la/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐˈnɛ.lɐ/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlɐ
• Hyphenation: ca‧ne‧la
• Homophone: Canela

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese canela, from Latin cannella, diminutive of canna (“reed, cane”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na).

Noun

canela f (plural canelas)

1. (uncountable) cinnamon (spice from the cinnamon tree)
2. (colloquial) shin (front part of the leg below the knee)

Related terms

• Canela
• canela-amarela
• canela-branca
• canela-fedida
• canela-guaicá
• canela-preta
• canela-sassafrás
• canelada
• canelão
• caneleira
• canelinha

Noun

canela m (plural canelas)

1. Canela (member of the Canela people)
2. (uncountable) Canela language

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

canela

1. inflection of canelar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “canela”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “canela”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese canela, from Latin canella, diminutive of canna (“reed, cane”). Displaced Latin cinnamōmum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈnela/ [kaˈne.la]

• Audio (Peru):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ela
• Syllabification: ca‧ne‧la

Noun

canela f (plural canelas)

1. cinnamon
2. (colloquial, especially Andalusia) something excellent, top-notch, or of the finest quality

   Este vino es canela.

   This wine is excellent.

Usage notes

• The colloquial meaning denoting high quality comes from the expression ser canela en rama (literally, "to be a cinnamon stick"), which is frequently abbreviated to simply ser canela or just canela.

Derived terms

• árbol de la canela
• canela blanca
• canela en rama
• flor de la canela
• ser canela
• ser canela en rama

Related terms

• canal
• canilla
• cannoli
• caña
• cañón

Adjective

canela f

1. feminine singular of canelo

Further reading

• “canelo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025