can-not

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verb

a form of ·can not.

Idioms

cannot but, have no alternative but to: We cannot but choose otherwise.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English

Usage note
Cannot is sometimes also spelled can not. The one-word spelling is by far the more common: Interest rates simply cannot continue at their present level. The contraction can't is most common in speech and informal writing. See also can¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To can-not

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Can-not is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

cannot (ˈkænɒt, kæˈnɒt)

—vb
	an auxiliary verb expressing incapacity, inability, withholding permission, etc; can not

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cannot

c.1400, from can (v.) + not. O.E. expressed the notion by ne cunnan.

Matching Quote

"One stick of bamboo can not make a raft."

-unknown author

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can-not

can·not