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canton

 - 8 dictionary results

can⋅ton

  [kan-tn, -ton, kan-ton for 1–7; kan-ton, -tohn--or, especially Brit., -toon for 8]
–noun
1. a small territorial district, esp. one of the states of the Swiss confederation.
2. (in a department of France) a division of an arrondissement.
3. Heraldry. a square area in the dexter chief, or right-hand corner, of an escutcheon, often distinctively treated: a diminutive of the dexter chief quarter.
4. Architecture. a pilaster or similar feature projecting from the corner of a building.
5. Obsolete. a division, part, or portion of anything.
–verb (used with object)
6. to divide into parts or portions.
7. to divide into cantons or territorial districts.
8. to allot quarters to (soldiers, troops, etc.).
Use canton in a Sentence
Origin:
1525–35; < MF < OPr, deriv. of can side, edge (see cant 2 )

Related forms:
can⋅ton⋅al, adjective
can⋅ton⋅al⋅ism, noun

Can⋅ton

  [kan-ton, kan-ton for 1; kan-tn for 2–5]
–noun
1. Also called Kwangchow, Guangzhou, Kuangchou. Older Spelling. a seaport in and the capital of Guangdong province, in SE China, on the Zhu Jiang. 3,000,000.
2. a city in NE Ohio: location of the football Hall of Fame. 94,730.
3. a city in E Massachusetts. 18,182.
4. a city in W central Illinois. 14,626.
5. a town in central Mississippi. 11,116.

Can⋅ton Riv⋅er

  [kan-ton] .
–noun
Zhu Jiang.

Guang⋅dong

  [gwahng-dawng]
–noun Pinyin.
a province in SE China. 42,800,000; 89,344 sq. mi. (231,401 sq. km). Capital: Canton.
Also, Kwangtung.

Zhu Jiang

  [jy jyahng]
–noun Pinyin.
a river in SE China, in S Guangdong province, flowing E and S from Canton and forming an estuary near Hong Kong. ab. 110 mi. (177 km) long.
Also, Chu Kiang.
Also called Canton River, Pearl River.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To canton
can·ton   (kān'tən, -tŏn')   
n.  

    1. A small territorial division of a country, especially one of the states of Switzerland.

    2. A subdivision of an arrondissement in France.

  2. Heraldry A small, square division of a shield, usually in the upper right corner.

  3. A usually rectangular division of a flag, occupying the upper corner next to the staff.


[French, from Old French, from Old Italian cantone, augmentative of canto, corner, from Vulgar Latin *cantus; see cant1.]
can'ton·al (kān'tə-nəl, kān-tŏn'əl) adj.
Can·ton   (kān'tən)   

  1. A city of northeast Ohio south-southeast of Akron. It was the home of President William McKinley. Population: 78,900.

  2. (kān'tŏn', kān'tŏn') See Guangzhou.

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

canton 
1522, from M.Fr. canton, from It. (Lombard dialect) cantone "region," especially in the mountains, augmentive of L. canto "section of a country," lit. "corner" (see cant (2)). Originally in Eng. a term in heraldry and flag descriptions; applied to the sovereign states of the Swiss republic from 1611.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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