Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Angular deviation from a vertical or horizontal plane or surface; an inclination or slope.
- noun A slanted or oblique surface.
- noun A thrust or motion that tilts something.
- noun The tilt caused by such a thrust or motion.
- noun An outer corner, as of a building.
- intransitive verb To set at an oblique angle; tilt.
- intransitive verb To give a slanting edge to; bevel.
- intransitive verb To change the direction of suddenly.
- intransitive verb To lean to one side; slant.
- intransitive verb To take an oblique direction or course; swing around, as a ship.
- noun Tedious or hackneyed language, especially when used sanctimoniously.
- noun The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot.
- noun The special vocabulary of a profession, discipline, or social group; jargon.
- noun Whining or singsong speech, such as that used by beggars.
- intransitive verb To speak tediously or sanctimoniously.
- intransitive verb To speak in argot or jargon.
- intransitive verb To speak in a whining or singsong voice.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An auction; sale by auction. Grose.
- noun A portion, share, or division; a parcel or bundle: as, a cant of hay; a cant of growing grain assigned to a reaper.
- noun In civil law, a method of partitioning property the title to which is vested in two or more parties in common.
- noun Something given in charity.
- To put or set at an angle; tilt or move from a horizontal line: as, to
cant or cant up a plank; to cant over a pail or cask. - Nautical, to turn (something) so that it is no longer fair and square; give (a ship) an inclination to one side, as in preparing her to be careened.
- To set upon edge, as a stone.
- To throw with a sudden jerk; toss: as, to
cant a ball. - To cut off an angle of, as of a square piece of timber.
- To tilt or incline; have a slant.
- noun A corner; an angle; a niche.
- noun The corner of a field.
- noun An external or salient angle: as, a six-canted bolt, that is, one of six cants, or of which the head has six angles.
- noun One of the segments forming a side piece in the head of a cask.
- noun A ship's timber, near the bow or stern, lying obliquely to the line of the keel.
- noun A piece of wood which supports the bulkheads on a vessel's deck.
- noun A log that has received two side cuts in a sawmill and is ready for the next cut.
- noun An inclination from a horizontal line; a sloping, slanting, or tilted position.
- noun A toss, thrust, or push with a sudden jerk: as, to give a ball a cant.
- noun In whale-fishing, a cut in a whale between the neck and fins.
- To sell by auction.
- To enhance or increase, as by competitive bidding at an auction.
- To recover or mend; grow strong.
- noun An abbreviation of
Canticles . - To speak with a whining voice or in an affected or assumed tone; assume a particular tone and manner of speaking for the purpose of exciting compassion, as in begging; hence, to beg.
- To make pharisaical, hypocritical, or whining pretensions to goodness; affect piety without sincerity; sham holiness.
- To talk in a, certain special jargon; use the words and phraseology peculiar to a particular sect, party, profession, and the like.
- To use as a conventional phraseology or jargon.
- Bold; strong; hearty; lusty. Now usually canty (which see).
- noun An oblique line which cuts off a corner of a rectangle; an oblique side of a polygon; an oblique plane which cuts off the corner of a cuboid; an oblique face of a crystal; a slanting face of a bank.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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They to whom what they call the cant of the Puritan is an offence, themselves have established and practise a distinct anti-Puritan cant with which we are all familiar.
Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z Various
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Both Captain and Mrs. Caldwell protested strongly against what they called cant; and they seemed to have called everything cant except an occasional cold reading aloud of the Bible on Sundays, and the bald observance of the church service.
The Beth Book Being a Study of the Life of Elizabeth Caldwell Maclure, a Woman of Genius Sarah Grand
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During his after-life Scott was wont to pride himself upon being a man of business, and he averred, in contradiction to what he called the cant of sonneteers, that there was no necessary connection between genius and an aversion or contempt for the common duties of life.
How to Get on in the World A Ladder to Practical Success Major A.R. Calhoon
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During his after-life Scott was wont to pride himself upon being a man of business, and he averred, in contradiction to what he called the cant of sonneteers, that there was no necessary connection between genius and an aversion or contempt for the common duties of life.
Self help; with illustrations of conduct and perseverance Samuel Smiles 1858
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This kind of cant is nowadays a pure anachronism, for the Northern business man is no longer prosperous.
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This kind of cant is nowadays a pure anachronism, for the Northern business man is no longer prosperous.
North and South 1937
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I {p. 128} dwell on this matter because it was always his favorite tenet, in contradiction to what he called the cant of sonneteers, that there is no necessary connection between genius and an aversion or contempt for any of the common duties of life; he thought, on the contrary, that to spend some fair portion of every day in any matter of fact occupation is good for the higher faculties themselves in the upshot.
Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume I (of 10) 1824
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Palin cant even finish a sentence when asked a question she just flip flops around.
CNN Poll: Most Americans say Palin not qualified to serve as president 2009
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If Palin cant stand up to the media how will she be ablt to stand up to terrorists??
Think Progress » Palin bars media from two upcoming Florida events. 2010
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Lemme see, here, Palin cant write her own book, cant remember talking points [TelePalmter], cant take the heat of being governor [quit] cant handle the media, cant handle the public with cameras and cell phones, cant handle blogger journalists.
Think Progress » Palin bars media from two upcoming Florida events. 2010
brtom commented on the word cant
"Never fear me. I think I have got the true bar cant—Did your honour call?—Attend the Lion there—Pipes and tobacco for the Angel.—The Lamb has been outrageous this half hour."
Goldsmith, She Stoops, III
January 11, 2007
yarb commented on the word cant
A continual cascade played at the bows; a ceaseless whirling eddy in her wake; and, at the slightest motion from within, even but of a little finger, the vibrating, cracking craft canted over her spasmodic gunwale into the sea.
- Melville, Moby-Dick, ch. 61
July 26, 2008
madmouth commented on the word cant
Don't cant to me!
April 11, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word cant
Cant
A haiku by the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
A sudden movement,
as on board ship, resulting
in a tilting up.
May 12, 2012
fbharjo commented on the word cant
recant - sungover?
May 12, 2012
fbharjo commented on the word cant
to be set 'on edge' (attuned ,if you will) as any good story or song will do.
December 9, 2016