cant

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: kănt, IPA(key): /kænt/ Homophone: can't (US), Homophone: Kant (in Anglicized pronunciation) Rhymes: -ænt === Etymology 1 === From Latin cantō, probably via Old Northern French canter (“sing, tell”). Doublet of chant. ==== Noun ==== cant (usually uncountable, plural cants) (countable) An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup. Synonyms: argot, jargon, slang 1836, Three discourses preached before the Congregational Society in Watertown, page 65 (countable, uncountable) A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group. Synonyms: argot, jargon, slang A language spoken by some Irish Travellers; Shelta. (uncountable, derogatory) Empty, hypocritical talk. (uncountable) Whining speech, such as that used by beggars. (countable, heraldry) A blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer, canting arms. (obsolete) A call for bidders at a public fair; an auction. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== cant (third-person singular simple present cants, present participle canting, simple past and past participle canted) (intransitive) To speak with the jargon of a class or subgroup. (intransitive) To speak in set phrases. (intransitive) To talk, beg, or preach in a singsong or whining fashion, especially in a false or empty manner. (intransitive, heraldry) Of a blazon, to make a pun that references the bearer of a coat of arms. (obsolete) To sell by auction, or bid at an auction. ===== Derived terms ===== ==== See also ==== jargon sociolect === Etymology 2 === From Middle English cant (“edge, brink”), from Middle Dutch cant (“point, side, edge”) (Modern Dutch kant (“side, edge”)), ultimately of Celtic or Latin origin. Related to Medieval Latin cantus (“corner, side”), from Latin canthus. ==== Noun ==== cant (plural cants) (obsolete) Side, edge, corner, niche. under the cant of a hill Slope, the angle at which something is set. A corner (of a building). Synonym: corner An outer or external angle. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a tilt. Synonyms: bevel, slope, tilt A movement or throw that overturns something. 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 sudden cant, or lurch, 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. A sudden thrust, push, kick, or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so given. (coopering) A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask. A segment of the rim of a wooden cogwheel. (nautical) A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads. (lumbering) An unfinished log after preliminary cutting. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== cantilever ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== cant (third-person singular simple present cants, present participle canting, simple past and past participle canted) (transitive) To set (something) at an angle; to tilt. to cant a cask to cant a ship (transitive) To give a sudden turn or new direction to. to cant round a stick of timber to cant a football (transitive) To bevel an edge or corner. (transitive) To overturn so that the contents are emptied. ===== Derived terms ===== recant (Etymology 2) ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Unknown, but compare Provençal cantel (“corner, piece”) or Old Northern French cantel (“piece broken off”). The verb is attested from the 15th century, and the noun from the 16th. See cantle, from which cant is possibly back-formed as if it contained the suffix -le. ==== Verb ==== cant (third-person singular simple present cants, present participle canting, simple past and past participle canted) (transitive, obsolete) To divide or parcel out. ==== Noun ==== cant (plural cants) (dialectal, forestry) A parcel, a division. === Etymology 4 === From Middle English cant, kaunt, presumably from Middle Low German *kant, perhaps a slang word related to kant (“edge, rim”), from Medieval Latin canthus. Attested from the 13th or 14th century. ==== Alternative forms ==== kant ==== Adjective ==== cant (not comparable) (UK, dialectal) Lively, lusty. === References === === Further reading === Cant (language) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === NCTA, T-Can == Catalan == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Northern, Central, Northwestern) [ˈkan] IPA(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈkant] === Etymology 1 === Inherited from Latin cantus. Compare Occitan cant. ==== Noun ==== cant m (plural cants) song Synonym: cançó ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== === Etymology 2 === Ultimately from Ancient Greek κανθός (kanthós, “corner of the eye”), perhaps via Latin canthus (“rim of a wheel”). ==== Noun ==== cant m (plural cants) canthus (corner of the eye, where the eyelids meet) === References === “cant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026 Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “cant”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan) == Italian == === Noun === cant m (apocopated) apocopic form of canto == Middle English == === Alternative forms === cante, kant, kaunt === Etymology === Possibly from Middle Low German *kant, perhaps a slang word related to kant (“edge, rim”), from Medieval Latin canthus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kant/ === Adjective === cant (Northern, Early Scots) bold, lively, cant c. 1340, Cursor Mundi, Cotton Vespasian A iii, lines 8943-46: ==== Descendants ==== English: cant (dialectal) Scots: cant ==== References ==== “cant, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007. == Middle Scots == === Alternative forms === kant === Etymology === From Middle English cant (“bold, lively”). === Adjective === cant lively == Middle Welsh == === Alternative forms === can (before a noun) === Etymology === From Proto-Brythonic *kant, from Proto-Celtic *kantom, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kant/ === Numeral === cant hundred ==== Derived terms ==== cantref ==== Descendants ==== Welsh: cant === Mutation === == Old French == === Noun === cant oblique singular, m (oblique plural canz or cantz, nominative singular canz or cantz, nominative plural cant) alternative form of chant == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from German Kante. === Noun === cant n (plural canturi) edge ==== Declension ==== == Welsh == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kant/ Rhymes: -ant === Etymology 1 === From Middle Welsh cant, from Proto-Brythonic *kant, from Proto-Celtic *kantom, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm. ==== Numeral ==== cant (cardinal number) one hundred ===== Usage notes ===== Preceding a noun, cant takes the form can. Cardinals following cant employ a (“and”) as a connecting word, which stands in contrast to ordinals after canfed, which use wedi'r (“past the, after the”), e.g. cant ac un (“one hundred and one”) but cyntaf wedi'r cant (“hundred-and-first”). ===== Derived terms ===== ==== Noun ==== cant m (plural cannoedd) hundred century ===== Derived terms ===== cannoedd ar filoedd (“hundreds of thousands”) === Etymology 2 === Middle Welsh, from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner, rim”). Related to Breton kant (“circle”), Old Irish cétad (“round seat”). ==== Noun ==== cant m (plural cantau) hoop rim ===== Derived terms ===== haearngant (“strake, tyre”) === Mutation === === References === Definition from the BBC Hoops, Johannes (1973): Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde, Volume 16, p. 445