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canting

[kan-ting] Origin

cant·ing

[kan-ting]
adjective
affectedly or hypocritically pious or righteous: a canting social reformer.

Origin:
1560–70; cant1 + -ing2

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Canting is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

cant

1[kant]
noun
1.
insincere, especially 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, especially 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; < Latin base cant- in cantus song, canticus singsong, etc., whence Old English cantere singer, cantic song; see chant

cant·ing·ly, adverb

cant, jargon1, slang1.


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.
EXPAND
6.
Civil Engineering. bank1 (def. 6).
7.
a sudden pitch or toss.
8.
Also called flitch. a partly trimmed log.
COLLAPSE
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; Middle English: side, border < Anglo-French cant, Old French chant < a Romance base *cantu(m) with the related senses “rim, border” and “angle corner,” probably < Celtic; compare Latin cant(h)us iron tire (< Celtic), Welsh cant periphery, rim, felloe; probably not akin to Greek kanthós corner of the eye; compare canteen, cantle, canton

cant·ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To canting
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cant
"slant," late 14c., 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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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