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Chanel VS Canela?
I just learned the word for "cinnamon" in Spanish class the other day--"canela." I thought it would be a cute name, and upon adding it to a growing list I have, I noticed how etymologically similar it looked to the name Chanel, which I also love. I researched the meaning of Chanel on BTN, and it says "pipe." But I'm wondering, are Chanel and Canela at all related? Could Chanel also possibly mean "cinnamon?" Sorry I'm good with Spanish but not with French and although they're quite similar I might just be barking up the wrong tree LOL. Any info is much appreciated.Thanks,
Mel1st Corinthians 9:24-27 - my verse!!!"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
Helen Keller
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Just because two words are close in sound does not mean that they are etymologically similar. You are confusing similarity in phonology, the sound of words, with similarity in etymology, the history of a word. There are many words in different languages which are superficially similar in sound completely by accident, and the words have different histories. The French word for cinnamon is cannelle. That word is probably etymologically related to the Spanish word canela. But cannelle and Chanel don't have to be related any more than English word pairs like cake/shake, cot/shot, or cunning/shunning have to be go back to the same ancient words.
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Thanks!! :DSo I was looking at the info BTN has on Chanel, and I noticed it said just "pipe." Does that mean a smoking pipe, a little musical pipe, or does it matter? Is it a more versatile definition?

This message was edited 3/8/2007, 3:31 PM

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