Etymology

canister

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Today it means: A cylindrical or rectangular container usually of lightweight metal, plastic, or laminated pasteboard used for holding a dry product (as tea, crackers, flour, matches). Full definition →

Middle English canustyr ← Latin canistrum
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromcanistrum
  2. Middle English · inherited fromcanustyr“basket”
  3. English todaycanister

From Middle English canustyr (“basket”), a borrowing from Latin canistrum. Doublet of canaster and knaster. * (metal receptacle): Through influence of unrelated can. * (projectile): Short for canister shot, so called for its casing.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.