canting

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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noun

a salient angle.

a sudden movement that tilts or overturns a thing.

a slanting or tilted position.

an oblique line or surface, as one formed by cutting off the corner of a square of cube.

an oblique or slanting face of anything.

Civil Engineering, bank¹ ( def 6 ).

a sudden pitch or toss.

Also called flitch. a partly trimmed log.

adjective

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; cf. canteen, cantle, canton

Related forms

cant·ic, adjective

Link To canting

Collins

World English Dictionary

cant¹ (kænt)

—n
1.	insincere talk, esp concerning religion or morals; pious platitudes
2.	stock phrases that have become meaningless through repetition
3.	specialized vocabulary of a particular group, such as thieves, journalists, or lawyers; jargon
4.	singsong whining speech, as used by beggars

—vb
5.	(intr) to speak in or use cant

[C16: probably via Norman French canter to sing, from Latin cantāre; used disparagingly, from the 12th century, of chanting in religious services]

'canter¹

—n

'cantingly¹

—*adv*

cant² (kænt)

—n
1.	inclination from a vertical or horizontal plane; slope; slant
2.	a sudden movement that tilts or turns something
3.	the angle or tilt thus caused
4.	a corner or outer angle, esp of a building
5.	an oblique or slanting surface, edge, or line

—vb
6.	to tip, tilt, or overturn, esp with a sudden jerk
7.	to set in an oblique position
8.	another word for bevel

—*adj*
9.	oblique; slanting
10.	having flat surfaces and without curves

[C14 (in the sense: edge, corner): perhaps from Latin canthus iron hoop round a wheel, of obscure origin]

'cantic²

—*adj*

cant³ (kɑːnt)

—*adj*
	dialect (Scot), (Northern English) lusty; merry; hearty

[C14: related to Low German kant bold, merry]

can't (kɑːnt)

—*contraction of*
	cannot

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cant

"insincere talk," 1709, earlier, slang for "whining of beggars," (1560s), from O.N.Fr. canter "to sing, chant" from L. cantare, freq. of canere "to sing" (see chant). Sense in English 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

"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").

Example sentences

In backwashing, the operators were instructed to brush down the filter freeboard as the unit was de- canting to wash level.

Current strategy for canting considers two possible paths.

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Related Words

cant hook

Matching Quote

"Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world—though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst—the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!"

-Laurence Sterne