כנען

מאיפה זה בא

Uncertain. Suggested to be from a West Semitic root from the base verb *kanaʕ- (“to be low, humble, subjugated”), Hebrew כָּנַע (kānaʕ), Aramaic כְּנַע (kənaʕ, “to bend, to kneel”), Arabic قَنَعَ (qanaʕa, “to beg”), Ge'ez አቅንዐ (ʾäḳnəʿä, “to arrange”), which could have been used in contrast with אֲרַם (“Aram”) with the latter derived from a word for highlands. Compare Phoenician 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 (knʿn), Arabic كَنْعَان (kanʕān). More at Canaan.

The medieval Jewish use of "Canaan" as a name for Slavic people was attested as early as the 10th century CE, from Sefer Yosippon, in a chart of Noah's descendants which claimed that Slavic people were descended from Canaan. Another reason was because Germanic-speaking Jews compared the similarity of the name "Slavs" (*slověninъ) with Old High Germanic sklave (“a slave”), as many Slavs were exchanged as slaves during local wars. In Jewish legends, Canaan and his descendants were associated with slavery due to a curse.