cant

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kænt/^[1]

cant¹ jargon; insincere talk

Etymology

The jargon comes from the verb cant, to speak in the whining, singsong tone of beggars (1567),^[2][3] probably borrowed from Old Northern French canter (“to sing, chant”) (Old French chanter),^[2][3] from Latin cantāre, the frequentative of canere (“to sing”),^[2][3][4] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *kan- (“to sing”); it is a doublet of chant.^[3][2] The Century Dictionary, as quoted by Etymonline, suggests an allusion to the perfunctory singing of church services and so to hypocritical religious phrases;^[3] Latin cantāre was used contemptuously of church services by 1180.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, to speak in a whining voice or to beg, is from 1567, the 1560s in Etymonline;^[2][3] the noun, the whining speech of beggars, is from 1640.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To speak the jargon of thieves and vagabonds is from about 1600,^[3] and the noun for the special language of a group, such as criminals, from 1681, in Dryden.^[2][3] The sense spread after 1680 to the jargon of any sect or school, used contemptuously by its rivals.^[3] Pretentious or insincere talk, especially pious platitudes, is from 1709,^[2][3] and the verb, to talk hypocritically, from the 1670s.^[3] The adjective, of the nature of cant, is from the early 18th century.^[5] John S. Farmer (1896) distinguished cant, restricted to thieves and vagrants, from slang, which is universal.^[3]

Timeline

• 1567 – to whine, beg.^[2]
• 1640 – the whining speech of beggars.^[2]
• 1670s – to talk hypocritically.^[3]
• 1681 – the jargon of a group.^[2]
• 1709 – insincere talk.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Insincere talk, especially about religion or morals; empty platitudes.
2. The special vocabulary of a group, such as thieves; jargon.
3. (archaic) The whining speech of beggars.

Verb

1. To talk in a hypocritical or pious way, or in jargon.

cant² slope, tilt

Etymology

The slope or edge is probably borrowed from Middle Dutch cant (“border, edge, side”) or Middle Low German kant, kante,^[2][4][6] or else Old North French cant “corner”,^[2][3] from Vulgar Latin *cantus, *canthus “corner, edge”, from Latin cantus (“iron tire of a wheel”), possibly of Celtic origin (compare Welsh cant “rim, edge”).^[3][6][2] The OED notes that words of the same form and sense are found in many European languages.^[3] It is related to decant.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Edge or brink: about 1375 in Barbour's Bruce, in Scots.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

A nook or corner in a building is from 1481–90, now obsolete,^[7] and the word was rare in English before about 1600.^[3] The verb, to slant or bevel, is from 1542–43,^[2][6] and to toss or tilt from the 16th century, whence a new noun for a toss, slope or tilt in the 18th century.^[4] An oblique surface cutting off a corner is from 1840,^[7] and a slope or tilting position from 1847.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1375 – an edge (Scots).^[2]
• 1481–90 – a nook, corner.^[7]
• 1542–43 – the verb, to slant.^[2]
• 1840 – an oblique surface.^[7]
• 1847 – a slope.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A slope or tilt.
2. A slanting surface, or a corner cut off at an angle.

Verb

1. To tilt, or set at an angle.
2. To bevel an edge.

Related words

• chant
• canticle
• canto
• decant
• canthus
• canting

Usage notes

Several other words are spelled cant: Scots and northern cant “lively, brisk”, related to Dutch kant “neat”;^[5] cant, an auction, chiefly Anglo-Irish;^[5][8] and obsolete cant, a portion or share.^[5][7] The contraction can't of cannot is unrelated.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)