Dutch word kanker comes from Proto-Indo-European *kr-kr-, Proto-Indo-European *gen-, Ancient Greek καρκίνος, Italian crab, and later Proto-Italic *karkros (Enclosure, barrier.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *kr-kr- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *gen- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | to pinch, squeeze, bend, press together, ball3, to pinch, squeeze, bend, press, ball up |
| καρκίνος | Ancient Greek (grc) | |
| crab | Italian (ita) | |
| *karkros | Proto-Italic (itc-pro) | Enclosure, barrier. |
| *gong- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| cancer | Latin (lat) | A crab. A lattice, grid, or barrier. A tumor, cancer. |
| cancer | French (fra) | Cancer. |
| canker | Middle Dutch (dum) | |
| kanker | Dutch (nld) | (medicine, oncology) cancer. (offensive intensifier) Something incredibly bad, poor or annoying. |