Kanton German · revision 35774

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1475, Freiburg im Üechtland|origins=la cantus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kanˈtoːn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Switzerland: /ˈkɑnton/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Kanton''' ''m'' (genitive Kantons, plural Kantone)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|canton|t=corner; district]], from [[it|cantone]], an augmentative of [[m|it|canto|t=corner]].^(Kluge 2011|471)^(Duden 7 2014|428) Pfeifer traces the Swiss word instead to the Lombard use of the same noun for a region or a mountain valley, adopted for the valleys of central Switzerland that had won their independence; the earlier German use and the Prussian one come in his view from French.^(Pfeifer 1993) The Italian noun goes back to [[la|cantus|t=iron tyre of a wheel]], a word of Gaulish origin, and so belongs with [[Kante]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary DE) The same word is [[nl|kanton]], [[en|canton]] and [[sv|kanton]].^(Kluge 2011|471)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The German Wiktionary cites a first record of 1475 in a document from Freiburg im Üechtland.^(Wiktionary DE) Pfeifer finds the word now and then in the 15th century for a part of a country, and as the name of the Swiss member states from the 16th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) Paul dates its use for Swiss affairs to 1574, and the Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch quotes Eyzinger in 1586: “of the five ''Orte'' or ''Cantone'', as the French call them”.^(Paul 2002)^(DFWB)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ For a long time the Swiss themselves used native words: until the end of the 18th century ''Ort'', ''Gebiet'' and ''Stand'' stood beside it, and Adelung noted in 1774 that foreigners called the thirteen Swiss republics ''Cantons'' while the Swiss called them ''Orte''.^(DFWB)^(Paul 2002)^(Duden 7 2014|428) As a technical term of the Swiss constitution it dates from after 1798.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ In 18th-century Prussia a ''Kanton'' was a district from which recruits were drawn; the system lasted until universal conscription.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) From it comes ''Kantonist'', a man liable for service, which survives in ''unsicherer Kantonist'', first said of a conscript who might try to avoid service, and since 1885 of anyone who cannot be relied on.^(Kluge 2011|471)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) The word is also used for districts in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1475 – First known record, in a document from Freiburg im Üechtland.^(Wiktionary DE)

+ * 1574 – First use for the Swiss states.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1586 – Eyzinger notes that the French call the Swiss ''Orte'' “cantons”.^(DFWB)

+ * 1680 – Steiner's description of Switzerland speaks of the 13 ''Cantonen''.^(DFWB)

+ * 18th century – In Prussia, a district for raising recruits.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * After 1798 – Technical term of Swiss constitutional law.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1885 – First record of ''unsicherer Kantonist''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|canton]], one of the member states of the Swiss [[m|en|confederation]]: ''Der Kanton Uri liegt am Vierwaldstättersee.''^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A district in France, Belgium or Luxembourg.^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)

+ # ''(heraldry)'' A canton, a square field in the upper corner of a shield.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(historical)'' A recruiting district of the Prussian army.^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[kantonal]]

+ * [[Kantonist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Kante]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The phrase ''ein unsicherer Kantonist'' “an unreliable person” keeps the Prussian sense: a ''Kantonist'' was a man liable to be called up from his district.^(Kluge 2011|471)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}