canopy
Definitions
General English
- noun a cloth cover or light roof over a small area such as a door, window or bed
- noun the top parts of a group of trees when considered as a single mass
Agriculture
- noun a layer of branches and leaves of trees which shade the ground underneath.
Aviation
- noun a transparent cover, typically on some fighters, light aircraft and gliders, designed to slide backwards and forwards or hinge upwards to allow pilots to enter or leave an aircraft
- noun a covering to protect people in a life raft
Construction
- An ornamental roof-like structure over a pulpit.
Military
- noun a covering suspended over an object
- noun the fabric part of a parachute
- noun a cover provided by the leaves and branches of trees in a wood, forest, jungle, etc.
Real Estate
- noun a covering fixed above something to provide shelter or for decoration, especially a fabric covering that can be removed or folded away
- noun a roofed structure that covers an area, especially one that shelters a passageway between two buildings
Wine
- the spread of branches and leaves on a vine
Origin & History of “canopy”
Etymologically, a canopy is a ‘mosquito net’. The word comes ultimately from Greek kōnōpeion, a derivative of kṓnops ‘mosquito’. this passed via Latin cōnōpūum into medieval Latin as canopeum, which meant both ‘mosquito net’ and ‘couch with such a net’. English adopted it directly from Latin as canope or canape, meaning ‘covering suspended over a throne, bed, etc’. The French version of the word, however, concentrated on other aspects of canopeum’s meaning; French canapé means ‘couch, sofa’. Its metaphorical extension, ‘piece of bread or biscuit with a savoury topping’, was borrowed into English towards the end of the 19th century.
