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Glite Dictionary
🛶 Main Venice waterway 🚢 Major China waterway
Grand Canal

Grand Canal

2 4.0
A large S-shaped waterway that runs through Venice and is lined with old buildings
  • proper noun
translation icon : Gran Canal
  • The raised central arch of Venice's Rialto Bridge allowed for large boat traffic on the city's Grand Canal during its marine trading heyday.
  • Grand Canal in Venice
  • home on the Grand Canal

Examples

  • Sometimes I ride the late, deserted vaporetti up and down the Grand Canal, or to Lido, then back to Sant'Elena where an empty, quiet bench is always available.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Before crossing the water into Santa Croce, I stood at the top of the Scalzi bridge for a while, alone, watching the lights glitter off the Grand Canal.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The growing family bought a home overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice, where Christopher and Alexander were raised.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • When early evening comes, I watch the boats run up and down the Grand Canal from my favorite bench in Campo San.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • At the edge of the Grand Canal, he boarded a vaporetto and stood at the stern watching the city disappear behind him.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • He followed the Grand Canal nearly to the Rialto, walking slowly, gazing abstractly about.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • It was something intangible that I felt as soon as I saw the mouth of the Grand Canal near the Lista di Spagna, as soon as I took in the air and the aura of Venice.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We spent part of a summer in Venice, mornings lounging at a cafe by the Grand Canal, watching the rose-colored stucco of the palazzi bloom above the green water.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The gondolier expertly navigated his boat along the Grand Canal, showcasing the beauty of Venice.

  • Tourists flock to the Grand Canal each year to admire its stunning views and historic architecture.

Surface Forms

Grand Canal main

Morphology

grand + canal

The words 'grand' (large, magnificent) and 'canal' (engineered water channel) combine transparently to indicate a large or important waterway, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will infer the basic meaning. However, 'Grand Canal' is a specific historic proper name (the extensive Chinese waterway), and its precise geographic and historical reference is not predictable from the parts alone, so full interpretation requires world knowledge.

Etymology

Grand Canal in Venice is a wide, S-shaped 'street' of water that runs through the city and is lined with large old houses and churches. Imagine gondolas and boats gliding past those grand buildings—this clear picture explains why it is called the Grand Canal: the city's main, important waterway.