cant

¹

[kant]

noun

1. insincere, especially conventional expressions of enthusiasm for high ideals, goodness, or piety.

   Synonyms: humbug, pretense, sham, hypocrisy

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)

1. to talk hypocritically.

2. to speak in the whining or singsong tone of a beggar; beg.

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.

7. a sudden pitch or toss.

8. Also called flitch. a partly trimmed log.

adjective

1. oblique or slanting.

verb (used with object)

1. to bevel; form an oblique surface upon.

2. to put in an oblique position; tilt; tip.

3. to throw with a sudden jerk.

verb (used without object)

1. to take or have an inclined position; tilt; tip.

cant

³

[kahnt]

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. hearty; merry.

can't

⁴

[kant, kahnt]

1. contraction of cannot.

Cant.

⁵

abbreviation

1. Canterbury.

2. Cantonese.

cant

¹

/ kænt /

noun

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

verb

1. to tip, tilt, or overturn, esp with a sudden jerk

2. to set in an oblique position

3. another word for bevel

adjective

1. oblique; slanting

2. having flat surfaces and without curves

cant

²

/ kænt /

noun

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

verb

1. (intr) to speak in or use cant

Cant.

³

abbreviation

1. Canterbury

2. Bible Canticles

cant

⁴

/ kɑːnt /

adjective

1. dialect,  lusty; merry; hearty

can't

⁵

/ kɑːnt /

contraction

1. cannot

Usage

See contraction.

Spelling Note

See cannot.

Other Word Forms

• cantingly adverb
• cantic adjective
• canter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of can't¹

First recorded in 1495–1505; from Latin base cant- in cantus “song,” canticus “singsong,” etc., whence Old English cantere “singer,” cantic “song”; chant

Origin of can't²

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English: “side, part, border,” from Anglo-French cant, Old French chant, from an unrecorded Romance cantu(m) with the related senses “rim, border” and “angle corner,” probably from Celtic; compare Latin cant(h)us “tire, iron tire” (from Celtic kantos ), Welsh cant “periphery, rim, felloe” canteen, cantle, canton

Origin of can't³

First recorded in 1325–1375; Middle English cant, kant, kaunt “bold, brave, fierce,” from Low German kant “merry, bold”

Word History and Origins

Origin of can't¹

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

Origin of can't²

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

Origin of can't³

C14: related to Low German kant bold, merry

Idioms and Phrases

• beggars can't be choosers
• can
• if you can't beat them, join them
• you can't take it with you
• you can't win them all

Example Sentences

I love this quote by Ntozake Shange: “i cant count the number of times i have viscerally wanted to attack deform n maim the language that i was taught to hate myself in.”

From Los Angeles Times

"We cant agree to those narratives," he said.

From BBC

"I still cant really put it down to anything specific," she tells BBC Sport.

From BBC

"I cant wait to be in the audience and watch them react to it. I think they’ll have their tartan out – their scarves and probably dress up for the occasion."

From BBC

What really hampered Sandoval, however, was a lack of endorsements from prominent Latino politicians, who dropped their usual cant of Latino power to back the white guy over the Latina.

From Los Angeles Times