"the rabble, the lowest order of people collectively," 1670s, from French canaille (16c.), from Italian canaglia, literally "a pack of dogs," from cane "dog," from Latin canis (from PIE root *kwon- "dog").
Entries linking to canaille
*kwon-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "dog."
It forms all or part of: canaille; canary; canicular; canid; canine; chenille; corgi; cynic; cynical; cynosure; dachshund; hound; kennel; Procyon; quinsy.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit svan-, Avestan spa, Greek kyōn, Latin canis, Old English hund, Old High German hunt, Old Irish cu, Welsh ci, Russian sobaka (apparently from an Iranian source such as Median spaka), Armenian shun, Lithuanian šuo "dog."