canine
<div class="i t s"><span class="s">Canine</span> is how zoologists refer to all mammals with snouts and non-retractable claws. Sound familiar? That's right, Fido is a <span class="s">canine</span>. (All dogs are.) Coyotes and wolves are <span class="s">canines</span>, too.</div><div class="a i">The sharp pointy teeth in your mouth are also called <i>canines</i>. Like wolves, we use these sharp incisors to tear meat from the bone, though these days we tend to get some help in that department from knives and forks. Fun fact: The police call their drug-sniffing dogs the K-9 unit. Get it?</div>
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cannibalism
<div class="i t s"><span class="s">Cannibalism</span> is when people eat people, or another animal eats that type of animal.</div><div class="a i">Of all the bizarre things in the world, cannibalism is near the top of the list. For humans, cannibalism means eating human flesh. This occurs in some primitive societies and among disturbed people such as serial killers. Also, if a group of people are stranded somewhere long enough, they might have to resort to cannibalism to survive. Animals that eat their own kind are also examples of cannibalism. People who engage in cannibalism are called cannibals.</div>
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cannibal
<div class="i t s">A <span class="s">cannibal</span> is someone who eats human flesh. It’s a good idea not to get too friendly with one, especially if you’re covered in delicious-smelling spices.</div><div class="a i">The word <i>cannibal</i> comes from the Spanish word <i>caníbalis</i>, which was Christopher Columbus’s version of the word <i>Caribs</i>, the name people from the Caribbean called themselves. They meant <i>Carib</i> as in “brave ones” so something got lost in translation! Most cannibals are fictional — like Queequeg from <i>Moby Dick</i> or Hannibal Lecter from <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i>. This word can apply to animals that eat their own kind: for example, the cannibal shrimp eats other shrimp. Ew.</div>
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cannon
<div class="i t s">A <span class="s">cannon</span> is a large gun that fires heavy metal shells or other projectiles. Originally it was attached to wheels and pulled by men.</div><div class="a i">More recently, <i>cannon</i> refers to the largest gun on a tank or the automatic guns on a plane. All cannons, however old they are, have basically the same shape — a long, thick tube. Not surprising, then, that the term comes from the Latin word <i>canna</i>, meaning "tube" or "reed." Do not confuse with the word <i>canon</i>, with one <i>n</i>, which is a term of classification, as in its most common usage, "the literary canon."</div>
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canker
<div class="i t s">A <span class="s">canker</span> is something terrible that is hard to get rid of. Think of how you feel about the <span class="s">canker</span> sore in your mouth. Drug use is a <span class="s">canker</span> on our society, destroying lives and families.</div><div class="a i">In medicine, <i>cankers</i> are ulcers that are difficult to treat (the word is closely related to <i>cancer</i>). In agriculture, they are a disease that attacks the bark of apple trees. If one kid in your class misbehaves, and everyone suddenly follows his lead, that kid could be described (by your teachers) as a <i>canker</i>.</div>
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canister
<div class="i t s">A <span class="s">canister</span> is a small container with a lid, often made of metal. You might keep a <span class="s">canister</span> of sugar in your kitchen next to a <span class="s">canister</span> of tea.</div><div class="a i">Typically, a canister is round and has a fitted lid — while kitchen canisters are usually metal, the canisters that hold a roll of camera film are made of plastic. In the 15th century, the word meant "basket," from the Latin <i>canistrum</i>, "wicker basket," with its Greek root <i>kanystron</i>, "basket made of reeds." The meaning of <i>canister</i> probably changed to "metal container" because of the word <i>can</i>.</div>
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