[kan-tn, -ton, kan-ton for 1–7; kan-ton, -tohn--or, especially Brit., -toon for 8] 
| 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. |
| 6. | to divide into parts or portions. |
| 7. | to divide into cantons or territorial districts. |
| 8. | to allot quarters to (soldiers, troops, etc.). |
| can·ton (kān'tən, -tŏn') n.
[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. |
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