different between canny vs uncanny

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kæni/
• Rhymes: -æni
• Homophone: kanny

Etymology 1

Northern English dialect, from can (“to know”) (+ -y), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (“to be able, know how to”), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”). Compare Scots canny, Old English cann (“knowledge, assertion”). More at can, cunning.

Adjective

canny (comparative cannier, superlative canniest)

1. Careful, prudent, cautious.
   • 1723-1737, Allan Ramsay, "Love Inviting Reason", in The Tea-Table Miscellany

     O ! as thou art bonny , be prudent and canny,
     And think on thy Jamie wha dotes upon thee

2. Knowing, shrewd, astute.
3. Frugal, thrifty.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:frugal

   • 1751, Allan Ramsay, The Gentle Shepherd, in Poems by Allan Ramsay (1751 edition):

     Whate'er he wins, I'll guide with canny care.

4. (Scotland, Northumbria) Pleasant, fair, favorable or agreeable to deal with.
   • 1783, Robert Burns, "Green Grow the Rashes O", Songs and Ballads

     But gie me a cannie hour at e'en,
     

     My arms about my dearie O;
     

     An' warl'y cares, an' warl'y men,
     

     Mae a' gae tapsalteerie O!

5. (Scotland, Northumbria) Gentle, quiet, steady.

Usage notes

In common modern usage, canny and uncanny are no longer antonyms, although they are not synonyms.

Derived terms

• cannily
• canniness

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

canny (not comparable)

1. (Northumbria) Very, considerably; quite, rather.

2. (Scotland, Northumbria) Gently, quietly; carefully, skilfully.

Translations

References

• Frank Graham (1987) The New Geordie Dictionary, ?ISBN
• Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin, [2]
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977[3]

Etymology 2

can (“more or less cylindrical metal container”) +? -y

Adjective

canny

1. (especially of sound) Sounding as if it is coming through a tin can.
   • 1998 August 20, Kallel, Four speakers are a pain in the ass ;P, in 3dfx.products.voodoo2:

     The rear sounds sounded canny compared to the front ones. And you also have to adjust the volume so both pair of speakers are at the same level, […]

   • 2000 October 17, "Dreamin Man" (username), Lexicon MPX 100?, in rec.audio.pro, Usenet:

     I am using the stereo outs, I am getting nice reverb out of it but the probelm^[sic] is the entire sound is like i said like its coming through a can. even when in bypass mode it sound "canny".

     Thank you for your input.

     Stacey

   • 2001 October 8, Philippe, Antwerp - what a disappointment !!!!, in alt.music.depeche-mode, Usenet:

     I was approch. 3 meters from the stage and the sound was very good from there. But if you had seats way up at the sides or at the back I can understand that you could have experienced a "canny" sound.

   • 2006 March 23, "The Chris" (username), Re: Best Distortion Under $100, in alt.guitar, Usenet:

     The metal zone is too 'canny'.... Boss has a handful of great distortions - DS-1, Mega Distortion, DS-2, Heavy Metal....

   • 2010 May 24, [email protected], FlipHD Saturday SECTR5 LittleWing, in alt.guitar, Usenet:

     Not bad.. Although I think the 290 might have a slight edge on video crispness, I think the audio is better on the ultra HD. Hear more low end, and slightly less canny sounding from what I can tell.

Anagrams

• Nancy, nancy

Scots

Alternative forms

• cannie

Etymology

From the verb can (“to know”), from Middle English can, first and third person singular of cunnen, connen (“to be able, know how to”), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kan?/, /k??n?/

Adjective

canny (comparative mair canny, superlative maist canny)

1. careful, cautious, prudent or steady
2. comfortable, gentle or cozy
3. attractive or pleasing
4. skilful, safe to work or deal with
5. fortunate, lucky
6. frugal, sparing
7. (archaic) with supernatural or occult powers

Adverb

canny (comparative mair canny, superlative maist canny)

1. carefully, cautiously

Related terms

• ca canny

English

Etymology

From un- +? canny; thus “beyond one's ken,” or outside one's familiar knowledge or perceptions. Compare Middle English unkanne (“unknown”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?kæni/
• Rhymes: -æni

Adjective

uncanny (comparative uncannier, superlative uncanniest)

1. Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird.
2. (Britain dialectal) Careless.

Translations

Noun

uncanny

1. (psychology, psychoanalysis, Freud) Something that is simultaneously familiar and strange, typically leading to feelings of discomfort; translation of Freud's usage of the German "unheimlich" (literally "unsecret").
   • 2011, Espen Dahl, Hans-Gunter Heimbrock, In Between: The Holy Beyond Modern Dichotomies, page 99:

     [The uncanny is] something that was long familiar to the psyche and was estranged from it only through being repressed. The link with repression now illuminates Schelling?s definition of the uncanny as ‘something that should have remained hidden and has come into the open.’ (Freud: 2003, 147 f)

   • 2003, Nicholas Royle, The Uncanny, page 1 [1]:

     The uncanny involves feelings of uncertainty, in particular regarding the reality of who one is and what is being experienced.

   • 2011, Anneleen Masschelein, The Unconcept: The Freudian Uncanny in Late-Twentieth-Century Theory, page 2 [2]:

     Because the uncanny affects and haunts everything, it is in constant transformation and cannot be pinned down.

   • 2001, Diane Jonte-Pace, Speaking the Unspeakable, page 81 [3]:

     In the preceding chapter, we saw that Freud linked the maternal body, death, and the afterlife with the uncanny in his famous essay "The Uncanny" ("Das Unheimliche").

   • 1982, Samuel Weber, The Legend of Freud, page 20 [4]:

     This uncontrollable possibility—the possibility of a certain loss of control—can, perhaps, explain why the uncanny remains a marginal notion even within psychoanalysis itself.

   • 2005, Barbara Creed, Phallic Panic, page vii [5]:

     Freud argued that the uncanny was particularly associated with feelings of horror aroused by the figure of the paternal castrator, neglecting the tropes of woman and animal as a source of the uncanny.

   • 1994, Sonu Shamdasani and Michael Münchow, Speculations after Freud, page 186 [6]:

     As is well known, Freud introduced the concept of the uncanny into psychoanalysis in 1919 and used The Sandman as a prime illustration for his definition.

Usage notes

In common modern usage, "canny" and "uncanny" are no longer antonyms, although they are not synonyms.

Derived terms

• uncanny valley
• uncannily

Related terms

Translations

References