Canada

PluralCanadas, canadas

1. 1
   modern countryproper nouncountable or uncountable

   A country occupying much of northern North America, with Ottawa as its capital and Toronto as its largest city.

   Canada and the United States share the longest international border in the world.

   Ottawa serves as the capital of Canada, though Toronto is far larger.

   UsageNo article: in Canada, to Canada (not incorrect: the Canada).

   Note

   The name began small. The French name Canada was borrowed from the Laurentian kanata, "village, settlement" (compare Onondaga gana꞉dá꞉yęʼ), ultimately from a Proto-North Iroquoian root. So a word for one settlement became the name of a colony and then of a nation. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

   • French Canada derives from Laurentian kanata, meaning village or settlement. en.wiktionary.org
   • Onondaga gana꞉dá꞉yęʼ is related to Laurentian kanata. en.wiktionary.org
   • The etymology ultimately reaches a Proto-North Iroquoian root. en.wiktionary.org
   • The settlement word was initially applied to a particular village before acquiring a wider geographical meaning. canada.ca
   • Cartier's early vocabulary records Canada as a word for a town. axl.cefan.ulaval.ca
   • Canada became the name of a colony. en.wikipedia.org
   • Canada subsequently became the country's name. en.wikipedia.org
2. 2
   British colonyproper nounhistoricalcountable or uncountable

   Either Lower Canada (1791–1841, later Canada East, now Quebec) or Upper Canada (1791–1841, later Canada West, now Ontario), the two together often called "the Canadas."

   Note

   A historian's name, and one of the few places where the word takes a plural and an article: the Canadas, for the two colonies taken together. Documents from 1841 to 1867 also use Canada East and Canada West for the same lands, and United Canada for the political union. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The Canadas collectively denotes Upper Canada and Lower Canada. en.wikipedia.org
   • Canada East and Canada West denoted the former Lower Canada and Upper Canada within their political union. epe.lac-bac.gc.ca
   • Records within the stated period use Canada East and Canada West. canada.ca
   • United Canada was used during that period for the political union. primarydocuments.ca
3. 3
   French colonyproper nounhistoricalcountable or uncountable

   The most active province of New France from 1608 to 1763, covering much of present-day Quebec and Ontario and several adjacent US states.

   Until Britain took control in 1763, the province of Canada was the heart of New France along the Saint Lawrence.

   Missionaries set out from Canada toward the Great Lakes in the 1640s.

   Note

   Here Canada names a French colony, not a nation. In histories of the period before 1763, it means the settled heart of New France along the Saint Lawrence and toward the Great Lakes. Its borders do not match the modern country's, and they reach into what are now US states. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Canada here denotes a French colony within New France. en.wikipedia.org
   • 1763 marks the end of Canada's status as French territory. en.wikipedia.org
   • Colonial Canada comprised the Saint Lawrence valley and the Great Lakes region. axl.cefan.ulaval.ca
   • Its territory differed from modern Canada's and included land now within US states. axl.cefan.ulaval.ca

Showing meanings only. Show all 4