[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]
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
To speak tediously or sententiously; moralize.
To speak in argot or jargon.
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.]
Shel·taAudio Help (shěl'tə) Pronunciation Key
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.]
"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.
"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").
Ac"cent`\, n. [F. accent, L. accentus; ad + cantus a singing, canere to sing. See Cant.]1. A superior force of voice or of articulative effort upon some particular syllable of a word or a phrase, distinguishing it from the others. Note: Many English words have two accents, the primary and the secondary; the primary being uttered with a greater stress of voice than the secondary; as in as'pira"tion, where the chief stress is on the third syllable, and a slighter stress on the first. Some words, as an'tiap'o-plec"tic, in-com'pre-hen'si-bil"i-ty, have two secondary accents. See Guide to Pron., [th][th] 30-46. 2. A mark or character used in writing, and serving to regulate the pronunciation; esp.: (a) a mark to indicate the nature and place of the spoken accent; (b) a mark to indicate the quality of sound of the vowel marked; as, the French accents. Note: In the ancient Greek the acute accent (') meant a raised tone or pitch, the grave (`), the level tone or simply the negation of accent, the circumflex ( ~ or ^) a tone raised and then depressed. In works on elocution, the first is often used to denote the rising inflection of the voice; the second, the falling inflection; and the third (^), the compound or waving inflection. In dictionaries, spelling books, and the like, the acute accent is used to designate the syllable which receives the chief stress of voice. 3. Modulation of the voice in speaking; manner of speaking or pronouncing; peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice; tone; as, a foreign accent; a French or a German accent. "Beguiled you in a plain accent." --Shak. "A perfect accent." --Thackeray. The tender accent of a woman's cry. --Prior. 4. A word; a significant tone; (pl.) expressions in general; speech. Winds! on your wings to Heaven her accents bear, Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear. --Dryden. 5. (Pros.) Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse. 6. (Mus.) (a) A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure. (b) A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure. (c) The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period. (d) The expressive emphasis and shading of a passage. --J. S. Dwight. 7. (Math.) (a) A mark placed at the right hand of a letter, and a little above it, to distinguish magnitudes of a similar kind expressed by the same letter, but differing in value, as y', y[sec]. (b) (Trigon.) A mark at the right hand of a number, indicating minutes of a degree, seconds, etc.; as, 12'27[sec], i. e., twelve minutes twenty seven seconds. (c) (Engin.) A mark used to denote feet and inches; as, 6' 10[sec] is six feet ten inches.
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\, 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\, 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\, 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\, 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.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [kant] Pronunciation Key 
