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Canting - 5 dictionary results

cant⋅ing

   [kan-ting]
–adjective
affectedly or hypocritically pious or righteous: a canting social reformer.
Origin:
1560–70; cant 1 + -ing 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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cant 1     (kānt)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Angular deviation from a vertical or horizontal plane or surface; an inclination or slope.
  2. A slanted or oblique surface.
    1. A thrust or motion that tilts something.
    2. The tilt caused by such a thrust or motion.
  4. An outer corner, as of a building.

v.   cant·ed, cant·ing, cants

v.   tr.
  1. To set at an oblique angle; tilt.
  2. To give a slanting edge to; bevel.
  3. To change the direction of suddenly.

v.   intr.
  1. To lean to one side; slant.
  2. To take an oblique direction or course; swing around, as a ship.


[Middle English, side, from Old North French, from Vulgar Latin *cantus, corner, from Latin canthus, rim of wheel, tire, of Celtic origin.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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cant 2     (kānt)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Monotonous talk filled with platitudes.
  2. Hypocritically pious language.
  3. The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot.
  4. Cant See Shelta.
  5. Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
  6. The special terminology understood among the members of a profession, discipline, or class but obscure to the general population; jargon. See Synonyms at dialect.

intr.v.   cant·ed, cant·ing, cants
  1. To speak tediously or sententiously; moralize.
  2. To speak in argot or jargon.
  3. To speak in a whining, pleading tone.


[Anglo-Norman cant, song, singing, from canter, to sing, from Latin cantāre; see kan- in Indo-European roots.]

cant'ing·ly adv., cant'ing·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Canting

Cant\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Canted; p. pr. & vb. n. Canting.]

1. To incline; to set at an angle; to tilt over; to tip upon the edge; as, to cant a cask; to cant a ship.

2. To give a sudden turn or new direction to; as, to cant round a stick of timber; to cant a football.

3. To cut off an angle from, as from a square piece of timber, or from the head of a bolt.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Canting

Cant"ing\, a. Speaking in a whining tone of voice; using technical or religious terms affectedly; affectedly pious; as, a canting rogue; a canting tone. -- Cant"ing*ly, adv. -- Cant"ing*ness, n.

Canting arms, Canting heraldry (Her.), bearings in the nature of a rebus alluding to the name of the bearer. Thus, the Castletons bear three castles, and Pope Adrian IV. (Nicholas Breakspeare) bore a broken spear.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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