Editing Cannon (section)

==Etymology and terminology==

The word ''cannon'' is derived from the [[Italian language#Origins|Old Italian]] word {{lang|it|cannone}}, meaning "large tube", which came from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|canna}}, in turn originating from the Greek {{lang|grc|κάννα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|kanna}}), "reed",<ref>{{Cite dictionary|first1=Henry George|last1=Liddell|first2=Robert|last2=Scott|dictionary=An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon|title=κάννα|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|date=1889|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0058:entry=ka/nna1|access-date=19 June 2023|via=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> and then generalised to mean any hollow tube-like object.<ref name="Definition and etymology of cannon">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cannon|title=Definition and etymology of 'cannon'|dictionary=[[Webster's Dictionary]]|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=8 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008040731/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cane|title=cane|dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=7 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207121446/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cane|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Definition and etymology of cane">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cane|title=Definition and etymology of 'cane'|dictionary=[[Webster's Dictionary]]|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=24 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424235838/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cane|url-status=live}}</ref> The word has been used to refer to a [[Gun#Terminology|gun]] since 1326 in Italy and 1418 in England. Both of the plural forms ''cannons'' and ''cannon'' are correct.<ref name="Definition and etymology of cannon"/><ref name="Cambridge Definition of cannon">{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/cannon|title=Definition of cannon|publisher=[[Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]]|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=31 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031192535/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/cannon|url-status=live}}</ref>