cant

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also:cânt,çant,can't,ca'n't,Cant.,andCant

English

[edit]
WOTD – 9 May 2007

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

FromLatincantōprobably viaOld Northern Frenchcanter(“sing, tell”).[1][2]Doubletofchant.

Noun

[edit]

cant(usuallyuncountable,pluralcants)

  1. (countable)Anargot,thejargonof a particularclassorsubgroup.
    Synonyms:argot,jargon,slang
    He had the look of a prince, but thecantof a fishmonger.
    • 1836,Three discourses preached before the Congregational Society in Watertown,page 65
      I am aware that the phrasefree inquiryhas become too much acantphrase soiled by the handling of the ignorant and the reckless by those who fall into the mistake of supposing that religion has its root in the understanding and by those who can see just far enough to doubt and no further.
  2. (countable,uncountable)Aprivateorsecretlanguageused by a religioussect,gang,or other group.
    Synonyms:argot,jargon,slang
  3. Alanguagespoken by someIrish Travellers;Shelta.
  4. (uncountable,derogatory)Empty,hypocriticaltalk.
    • 1749,Henry Fielding,“Containing Such Very Deep and Grave Matters, that Some Readers, Perhaps, May Not Relish It”, inThe History of Tom Jones, a Foundling,volume II, London:A[ndrew]Millar,[…],→OCLC,book IV,page23:
      He is too well grounded for all your philoſophicalCantto hurt.
    • 1761,[Laurence Sterne], chapter XII, inThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,volume III, London:[…]R[obert]andJ[ames]Dodsley[…],→OCLC,page60:
      Of all thecantswhich are canted in this canting world,—though thecantof hypocrites may be the worſt,—thecantof criticiſm is the moſt tormenting!
    • 1903,Samuel Butler,chapter 46, inThe Way of All Flesh:
      ... he knew very well that if they thought him clever they were being taken in, but it pleased him to have been able to take them in, and he tried to do so still further; he was therefore a good deal on the look-out forcantsthat he could catch and apply in season, and might have done himself some mischief thus if he had not been ready to throw over anycantas soon as he had come across another more nearly to his fancy...
    • 2004October 14, Leslie Feinberg, “Anti-gay terror in Nazi Germany”, inWorkers World‎[1]:
      The German population as a whole had been fed 12 years of Nazi propaganda, including demonizing and dehumanizingcantabout homosexual men and women.
  5. (uncountable)Whiningspeech, such as that used bybeggars.
  6. (countable,heraldry)Ablazonof acoat of armsthat makes apunupon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer,canting arms.
  7. (obsolete)A call for bidders at a public fair; anauction.
    • 1729,Jonathan Swift,The Intelligencer,number19:
      […]but numbers of these tenants or their descendants are now offering to sell their leases bycant,
Derived terms
[edit]
[edit]
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *keh₂n-‎(0 c, 24 e)
Translations
[edit]

Verb

[edit]

cant(third-person singular simple presentcants,present participlecanting,simple past and past participlecanted)

  2. (intransitive)Tospeakwith thejargonof a class or subgroup.
    • 1625(first performance),Ben[jamin] Jonson,The Staple of Newes.[…],London:[…]I[ohn]B[eale]forRobert Allot[…],published1631,→OCLC,Act IV, scene iv,page59:
      TheDoctorhere, I will proceed with thelearned./ VVhen he diſcourſeth ofdiſſection,/ Or any point ofAnatomy:that hee tells you, / OfVena caua,and ofvena porta,/ TheMeſeraicks,and theMeſenterium./ VVhat does he elſe butcant?[…]/ Does he notcant?VVho here does vnderſtand him?
    • 1854,Robert Sanderson, “The case of the liturgy”, inThe Works of Robert Sanderson, D.D., Sometime Bishop of Lincoln‎[2],volume 5, page56:
      […]that uncouth affected garb of speech, orcantinglanguage rather, if I may so call it
  3. (intransitive)To speak inset phrases.
  4. (intransitive)Totalk,beg,orpreachin asingsongorwhiningfashion, especially in afalseoremptymanner.
  5. (intransitive,heraldry)Of ablazon,to make apunthat references the bearer of a coat of arms.
  6. (obsolete)Tosellbyauction,orbidat an auction.
    • 1720,Jonathan Swift,A Proposal for the Use of Irish Manufacture:
      […]labouringwith all their might for preventing thebishopsfrom letting their revenues at a moderate half value[…]at the very instant, when they were every wherecantingtheir own land upon short leases, and sacrificing theiroldest tenants for a penny an acre advance.
Derived terms
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

FromMiddle Englishcant(“edge, brink”),fromMiddle Dutchcant(“point, side, edge”)(ModernDutchkant(“side, edge”)), ultimately ofCelticorLatinorigin. Related toMedieval Latincantus(“corner, side”),fromLatincanthus.

Noun

[edit]

cant(pluralcants)

  2. (obsolete)Side,edge,corner,niche.
    under thecantof a hill
    • 1604March 25 (first performance; Gregorian calendar; published1604), Beniamin Ionson [i.e.,Ben Jonson], “Part of the Kings Entertainment in Passing to His Coronation [The Coronation Triumph]”, inThe Workes of Beniamin Ionson(First Folio), London:[…]Will[iam]Stansby,published1616,→OCLC,page853:
      The firſt and principall perſon in the temple, was IRENE, orPeace;ſhee was placed aloft in aCant,[…]
  3. Slope,theangleat which something is set.
    • 1881–1882,Robert Louis Stevenson,“‘Pieces of Eight’”, inTreasure Island,London; Paris:Cassell & Company,published 14 November 1883,→OCLC,part V (My Sea Adventure),page218:
      Owing to thecantof the vessel, the masts hung far out over the water, and from my perch on the cross-trees I had nothing below me but the surface of the bay.
  4. Acorner(of a building).
    Synonym:corner
  5. An outer or externalangle.
  6. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; aslopeorbevel;atilt.[3]
    Synonyms:bevel,slope,tilt
  7. Amovementorthrowthatoverturnssomething.
    • 1830,The Edinburgh Encyclopedia, volume 3,page 621
      It is not only of great service in keeping the boat in her due position on the sea, but also in creating a tendency immediately to recover from any suddencant,orlurch,from a heavy wave; and it is besides beneficial in diminishing the violence of beating against the sides of the vessel which she may go to relieve.
  8. A suddenthrust,push,kick,or otherimpulse,producing a bias or change of direction; also, thebiasor turn so given.
    to give a ball acant
  9. (coopering)A segment forming a side piece in the head of acask.[4]
  10. A segment of therimof a woodencogwheel.[5]
  11. (nautical)A piece of wood laid upon thedeckof avesselto support thebulkheads.
  12. (lumbering)An unfinished log after preliminary cutting.
Derived terms
[edit]
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Verb

[edit]

cant(third-person singular simple presentcants,present participlecanting,simple past and past participlecanted)

  1. (transitive)To set (something) at anangle.
    tocanta cask
    tocanta ship
    • 1979August, Graham Burtenshaw, Michael S. Welch, “O.V.S. Bulleid's SR loco-hauled coaches - 1”, inRailway World,page396:
      Mirrors in the compartments have beencantedout of the vertical plane to reduce reflections to the passengers when seated.
  2. (transitive)To give a sudden turn or new direction to.
    tocantround a stick of timber
    tocanta football
  3. (transitive)Tobevelan edge or corner.
  4. (transitive)Tooverturnso that the contents areemptied.
Derived terms
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Etymology 3

[edit]

Unknown, but compareProvençalcantel(“corner, piece”)orOld Northern Frenchcantel(“piece broken off”).[6]The verb is attested from the 15th century,[7]and the noun from the 16th.[6]Seecantle,from whichcantis possiblyback-formedas if it contained the suffix-le.

Verb

[edit]

cant(third-person singular simple presentcants,present participlecanting,simple past and past participlecanted)

  1. (transitive,obsolete)Todivideorparcel out.

Noun

[edit]

cant(pluralcants)

  1. (dialectal,forestry)Aparcel,adivision.

Etymology 4

[edit]

FromMiddle Englishcant,kaunt,presumably fromMiddle Low German*kant,perhaps a slang word related tokant(“edge, rim”),fromMedieval Latincanthus.Attested from the 13th or 14th century.[8]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

cant(notcomparable)

  1. (British,dialectal)Lively,lusty.

References

[edit]
  1. ^Tom McArthur (1992)The Oxford Companion to the English Language,Oxford University Press,→ISBN
  2. ^Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “cant”,inOnline Etymology Dictionary.
  3. ^Edward H[enry] Knight(1877) “Cant”, inKnight’s American Mechanical Dictionary.[…],volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.:Hurd and Houghton[…],→OCLC.
  4. ^Edward H[enry] Knight(1877) “Cant”, inKnight’s American Mechanical Dictionary.[…],volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.:Hurd and Houghton[…],→OCLC.
  5. ^Edward H[enry] Knight(1877) “Cant”, inKnight’s American Mechanical Dictionary.[…],volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.:Hurd and Houghton[…],→OCLC.
  6. ↑6.06.1cant, n.2, inOxford English Dictionary,1884–1928, andFirst Supplement,1933.
  7. ^cant, v.1, inOxford English Dictionary,1884–1928, andFirst Supplement,1933.
  8. ^cant, adj., inOxford English Dictionary,1884–1928, andFirst Supplement,1933.

Further reading

[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]

Catalan

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

InheritedfromLatincantus.CompareOccitancant.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

cantm(pluralcants)

  1. song
    Synonym:cançó
[edit]

References

[edit]
  • “cant”inDiccionari català-valencià-balear,Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Italian

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

cantm(apocopated)

  1. Apocopicform ofcanto

Middle English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Possibly fromMiddle Low German*kant,perhaps a slang word related tokant(“edge, rim”),fromMedieval Latincanthus.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

cant

  1. (Northern,Early Scots)bold,lively,cant
    • c.1340,Cursor Mundi,Cotton Vespasian A iii, lines 8943-46:
      Iuus þat war sacantand kene, / Quen þai had þis meracles sene, / þai drou it þen and mad a brig / Ouer a litel burn to lig
      Jews who were soboldand ready, when they had seen this miracle, pulled it out and made a bridge over a little stream to lie

Descendants

[edit]
  • English:cant(dialectal)
  • Scots:cant

References

[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]

Middle Scots

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

FromMiddle Englishcant(“bold, lively”).

Adjective

[edit]

cant

  1. lively
    • 1513,Virgil,translated byGavin Douglas,Aeneid:
      The cadgyar callis furth his capill with crakkis wailcant
      The carrier summons his horse with very lively shouts

Old French

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

cantoblique singular,m(oblique pluralcanzorcantz,nominative singularcanzorcantz,nominative pluralcant)

  1. Alternative form ofchant

Romanian

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

BorrowedfromGermanKante.

Noun

[edit]

cantn(pluralcanturi)

  1. edge

Declension

[edit]
Declension ofcant
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un)cant cantul (niște)canturi canturile
genitive/dative (unui)cant cantului (unor)canturi canturilor
vocative cantule canturilor

Welsh

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

FromMiddle WelshandOld Welshcant,fromProto-Brythonic*kant,fromProto-Celtic*kantom,fromProto-Indo-European*ḱm̥tóm.

Numeral

[edit]
Welsh numbers(edit)
1,000
[a],[b],[c]← 90 [a],[b],[c],[d]← 99 100 101 → 200 →
10[a],[b]
Cardinal(vigesimal):pum ugain
Cardinal:cant,(before nouns)can
Ordinal:canfed
Ordinalabbreviation:100fed

cant

  1. (cardinal number)one hundred
Usage notes
[edit]
  • Preceding a noun,canttakes the formcan.
  • Cardinals followingcantemploya(“and”)as a connecting word, which stands in contrast to ordinals aftercanfed,which usewedi'r(“past the, after the”),e.g.cant ac un(“one hundred and one”)butcyntaf wedi'r cant(“hundred-and-first”).
Derived terms
[edit]

Noun

[edit]

cantm(pluralcannoedd)

  1. hundred
  2. century
Derived terms
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

Middle Welsh,fromProto-Celtic*kantos(“corner, rim”).Related toBretonkant(“circle”),Old Irishcétad(“round seat”).

Noun

[edit]

cantm(pluralcantau)

  1. hoop
  2. rim

Mutation

[edit]
Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
cant gant nghant chant
Note:Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=cant&oldid=81970976"