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cant - 31 dictionary results

cant

1  [kant]
Use cant in a Sentence
–noun
1. insincere, esp. conventional expressions of enthusiasm for high ideals, goodness, or piety.
2. the private language of the underworld.
3. the phraseology peculiar to a particular class, party, profession, etc.: the cant of the fashion industry.
4. whining or singsong speech, esp. of beggars.
–verb (used without object)
5. to talk hypocritically.
6. to speak in the whining or singsong tone of a beggar; beg.
Origin:
1495–1505; < L base cant- in cantus song, canticus singsong, etc., whence OE cantere singer, cantic song; see chant

Related forms:
cant⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. hypocrisy, sham, pretense, humbug.

cant

2  [kant]
–noun
1. a salient angle.
2. a sudden movement that tilts or overturns a thing.
3. a slanting or tilted position.
4. an oblique line or surface, as one formed by cutting off the corner of a square of cube.
5. an oblique or slanting face of anything.
6. Civil Engineering. bank 1 (def. 6).
7. a sudden pitch or toss.
8. Also called flitch. a partly trimmed log.
–adjective
9. oblique or slanting.
–verb (used with object)
10. to bevel; form an oblique surface upon.
11. to put in an oblique position; tilt; tip.
12. to throw with a sudden jerk.
–verb (used without object)
13. to take or have an inclined position; tilt; turn.
Origin:
1325–75; ME: side, border < AF cant, OF chant < a Rom base *cantu(m) with the related senses “rim, border” and “angle corner,” prob. < Celtic; cf. L cant(h)us iron tire (< Celtic), Welsh cant periphery, rim, felloe; prob. not akin to Gk kanthós corner of the eye; cf. canteen, cantle, canton

Related forms:
cantic, adjective

cant

3  [kahnt]
–adjective Scot. and North England.
hearty; merry.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < LG kant merry, bold

can't

  [kant, kahnt]
contraction of cannot.
Usage note:
See can 1 , cannot, contraction.

Cant.

 
1. Canterbury.
2. Cantonese.

bank

1  [bangk]
–noun
1. a long pile or heap; mass: a bank of earth; a bank of clouds.
2. a slope or acclivity.
3. Physical Geography. the slope immediately bordering a stream course along which the water normally runs.
4. a broad elevation of the sea floor around which the water is relatively shallow but not a hazard to surface navigation.
5. Coal Mining. the surface around the mouth of a shaft.
6. Also called cant, superelevation. the inclination of the bed of a banked road or railroad.
7. Aeronautics. the lateral inclination of an aircraft, esp. during a turn.
8. Billiards, Pool. the cushion of the table.
–verb (used with object)
9. to border with or like a bank; embank: banking the river with sandbags at flood stage.
10. to form into a bank or heap (usually fol. by up): to bank up the snow.
11. to build (a road or railroad track) with an upward slope from the inner edge to the outer edge at a curve.
12. Aeronautics. to tip or incline (an airplane) laterally.
13. Billiards, Pool.
a. to drive (a ball) to the cushion.
b. to pocket (the object ball) by driving it against the bank.
14. to cover (a fire) with ashes or fuel to make it burn long and slowly.
–verb (used without object)
15. to build up in or form banks, as clouds or snow.
16. Aeronautics. to tip or incline an airplane laterally.
17. Horology. (of a lever or balance) to be halted at either end of its oscillation by striking a pin or the like.
18. (of a road or railroad track) to slope upward from the inner edge to the outer edge at a curve.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME banke, OE hōbanca couch; c. ON bakki elevation, hill, Sw backe, Dan bakke < Gmc *bank-ōn-; perh. akin to Skt bhañj- bend, Lith bangà wave; see bank 3 , bench

Synonyms:
1. embankment, mound, ridge, dike. 3. See shore 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cant
cant 1   (kānt)   
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.]
cant 2   (kānt)   
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.
Shel·ta   (shěl'tə)   
n.  A secret jargon used by traditionally itinerant people in Great Britain and Ireland, based on systematic inversion or alteration of the initial consonants of Gaelic words. Also called Cant, Gammon.

[From Shelta Sheldrū, perhaps alteration of Irish Gaelic béarla, language, English, from Old Irish bélrae, language, from bél, mouth.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Main Entry:  cant1
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  the characteristic or secret language of a particular group
Etymology:  Latin cantus 'song, chant'
Main Entry:  cant1
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to bevel off; to put into an oblique position
Etymology:  Dutch, German kanten
Usage:  transitive
Main Entry:  cant2
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  phrases that have been endlessly repeated and have lost impact and meaning; a type of phraseology, such as affected and insincere religious speech
Etymology:  Latin cantus 'song, chant'
Main Entry:  cant2
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to tilt, incline, or turn upside-down
Etymology:  Dutch, German kanten
Usage:  transitive
Main Entry:  cant3
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  whiny speech
Etymology:  Latin cantus 'song, chant'
Main Entry:  cant3
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to speak in a jargon or secret language; to use a phraseology particular to a group
Etymology:  Latin cantus 'song, chant'
Usage:  transitive
Main Entry:  cant4
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  vulgar slang
Etymology:  Latin cantus 'song, chant'
Main Entry:  cant4
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to speak whiningly or affectedly
Etymology:  Latin cantus 'song, chant'
Usage:  transitive
Main Entry:  cant5
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  a slope in the turn of a road or track where the outside is higher; tilt
Etymology:  Celtic
Main Entry:  cant5
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to dispose of by auction
Etymology:  Latin accantare 'to put up to auction'
Usage:  transitive
Main Entry:  cant6
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  a slanting or oblique line, edge, or surface
Etymology:  Celtic
Main Entry:  cant7
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  an auction
Etymology:  Latin accantare 'to put up to auction'
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
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Language Translation for : cant
Spanish: hipocresía,
German: das Geschwafel,
Japanese: うわべだけの言葉
More Translations »

Cant

Cant\, n. [OF., edge, angle, prof. from L. canthus the iron ring round a carriage wheel, a wheel, Gr. ? the corner of the eye, the felly of a wheel; cf. W. cant the stake or tire of a wheel. Cf. Canthus, Canton, Cantle.]

1. A corner; angle; niche. [Obs.]

The first and principal person in the temple was Irene, or Peace; she was placed aloft in a cant. --B. Jonson.

2. An outer or external angle.

3. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a titl. --Totten.

4. A sudden thrust, push, kick, or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so give; as, to give a ball a cant.

5. (Coopering) A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask. --Knight.

6. (Mech.) A segment of he rim of a wooden cogwheel. --Knight.

7. (Naut.) A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads.

Cant frames, Cant timbers (Naut.), timber at the two ends of a ship, rising obliquely from the keel.

Cant

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.

Cant

Cant\, n. [Prob. from OF. cant, F. chant, singing, in allusion to the singing or whining tine of voice used by beggars, fr. L. cantus. See Chant.]

1. An affected, singsong mode of speaking.

2. The idioms and peculiarities of speech in any sect, class, or occupation. --Goldsmith.

The cant of any profession. --Dryden.

3. The use of religious phraseology without understanding or sincerity; empty, solemn speech, implying what is not felt; hypocrisy.

They shall hear no cant from me. --F. W. Robertson

4. Vulgar jargon; slang; the secret language spoker by gipsies, thieves, tramps, or beggars.

Cant

Cant\, a. Of the nature of cant; affected; vulgar.

To introduce and multiply cant words in the most ruinous corruption in any language. --Swift.

Cant

Cant\, v. i. 1. To speak in a whining voice, or an affected, singsong tone.

2. To make whining pretensions to goodness; to talk with an affectation of religion, philanthropy, etc.; to practice hypocrisy; as, a canting fanatic.

The rankest rogue that ever canted. --Beau. & Fl.

3. To use pretentious language, barbarous jargon, or technical terms; to talk with an affectation of learning.

The doctor here, When he discourseth of dissection, Of vena cava and of vena porta, The meser[ae]um and the mesentericum, What does he else but cant. --B. Jonson

That uncouth affected garb of speech, or canting language, if I may so call it. --Bp. Sanderson.

Cant

Cant\, n. [Prob. from OF. cant, equiv. to L. quantum; cf. F. encan, fr. L. in quantum, i.e. "for how much?"] A call for bidders at a public sale; an auction. "To sell their leases by cant." --Swift.

Cant

Cant\, v. t. to sell by auction, or bid a price at a sale by auction. [Archaic] --Swift.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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cant  (1)
"insincere talk," 1709, earlier, slang for "whining of beggars," (1567), from O.N.Fr. canter "to sing, chant" from L. cantare, freq. of canere "to sing" (see chant). Developed after 1680 to mean the jargon of criminals and vagabonds, then applied contemptuously by any sect or school to the phraseology of its rival.

cant  (2)
"slant," c.1375, Scottish, from O.N.Fr. cant (perhaps via M.L.G. kante or M.Du. kant), from V.L. *canthus, from L. cantus "iron tire of a wheel," possibly from a Celt. word meaning "rim of wheel, edge," from PIE base *kantho- "corner, bend" (cf. Gk. kanthos "corner of the eye").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: cant
Pronunciation: 'kant
Function: noun
: an oblique or slanting surface
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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