Etymologically
Log in

cant

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 03:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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.
  • 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)