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canting

 - 7 dictionary results

cant⋅ing

  [kan-ting]
Use canting in a Sentence
–adjective
affectedly or hypocritically pious or righteous: a canting social reformer.
Origin:
1560–70; cant 1 + -ing 2

cant

1  [kant]
–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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To canting
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

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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