kant Dutch · revision 37346

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1221, Middle Dutch (as a byname)|origins=fro cant}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kɑnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''kant''' ''m'' (plural kanten, diminutive kantje n)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|cant]], [[bor|fro|cant|t=side, edge]], the northern French form of the word that is ⟨chant⟩ in central Old French.^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(WNT) The Old French word probably comes from [[la|canthus|t=iron tyre of a wheel]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) In the western Romance languages the word is general: [[la-med|cantus|t=corner, side]], [[it|canto]], [[es|canto]] and [[pt|canto]] “edge, corner, side”, and [[pro|can|t=side]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ If the Latin word belongs here, so does [[grc|κανθός|tr=kanthós|t=tyre]], and probably [[cu|кѫтъ|tr=kǫtŭ|t=corner]] and [[lt|kampas|t=corner]].^(EWN) The connection with [[cy|cant|t=iron rim]] and [[br|kant|t=circle]] is unclear, though Van Veen and Van der Sijs think the Latin word was taken from Gaulish.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) Kroonen argues instead for a native Germanic [[m|gem-pro|*kanta-|t=side]], comparing German dialect [[m|de|Kanz]] and Scots [[m|en|cantle]], and links it to [[lt|žándas|t=cheek]].^(Kroonen 2013)

+

+ Middle Low German [[m|gml|kant]] was taken from Middle Dutch, and it passed on to [[de|Kante]], [[sv|kant]] and [[da|kant]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971) English [[m|en|cant|t=edge]] comes from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German or northern French.^(EWN) The East German [[m|de|Kanten|t=heel of a loaf]] goes back to the obsolete Middle Dutch sense “piece of bread”, brought east of the Elbe by Dutch settlers in the 12th century.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971) The word for lace is the same noun, named after its use as edging.^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word first appears as a byname for a tailor, ''Lizebet Cant'', in 1221, and as ''Jan Cant'' in Antwerp in 1248–1271.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(Van der Sijs 2001) The common noun is found in the Rijmbijbel of 1285: a tower ''met ysere ieghen brand wel verdect an elken cant'', “well covered with iron against fire on every side”, the land ''tuschen den berghen ende der ze cant'', “between the mountains and the shore”, and a gold band running round ''bouen an den cant'', along the top edge.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle Dutch used ''cant'' for the edge of a jug or a roof, for the bank of a river or the shore of the sea, and for a side or region.^(VMNW)^(De Vries 1971) ''Enen van cante spelen'', to put someone out of the way, survives in ''zich van kant maken'', to kill oneself.^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) In ''kant noch wal raken'', to make no sense at all, the word means “waterside”.^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) ''Er de kantjes aflopen'', to shirk one's work, is literally to walk along the edges of it.^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(WNT) ''Een dubbeltje op zijn kant'', a dime on its edge, is a matter whose outcome is uncertain.^(Stoett 1923)^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ As the name of an openwork fabric the word is first found in the plural ''kanten'', pieces of lace (1616), and as a mass noun in 1681.^(EWN) German ''Kanten'' “lace” was borrowed from Dutch.^(Van Haeringen 1936)^(WNT)

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+ Dutch passed the word “side, edge” to English (''cant''), Swedish, Finnish (''kantti'', through Swedish), Polish and Lithuanian (''kantas''), and to Negerhollands (''kant''), Berbice Dutch (''kandi''), Papiamentu (''kantu''), Sranan Tongo and Sarnami (''kanti'').^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1221 – ''Cant'' as a byname.^(EWN)

+ * 1248–1271 – ''Jan Cant'' in Antwerp.^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(Van der Sijs 2001)^(VMNW)

+ * 1285 – Middle Dutch ''cant'' “side, edge, shore” in the Rijmbijbel.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * 1616 – ''Kanten'' “pieces of lace”.^(EWN)^(WNT)

+ * 1681 – ''Kant'' as the name of the fabric.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|edge]], a strip along the border of something; also the bank of a water: ''aan de kant van het kanaal''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(ANW)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|lace]], a fine openwork fabric of linen thread or silk.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|side]] or face of an object: ''zet de doos op zijn kant''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(ANW)

+ # Each of two opposite parts, an aspect: ''aan de ene kant … aan de andere kant'', on the one hand … on the other.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # A side in a conflict or a family: ''familie van de koude kant'', in-laws.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # A direction: ''welke kant moeten we op?''.^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[zelfkant]]

+ * [[kantelen]]

+ * [[kanten]]

+ * [[kanteren]]

+ * [[kenteren]]

+ * [[bekant]]

+ * [[faliekant]]

+ * [[achtkant]]

+ * [[achterkant]]

+ * [[binnenkant]]

+ * [[bovenkant]]

+ * [[kantwerk]]

+ * [[vierkant]]

+ * [[waterkant]]

+ * [[overkant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[kanton]]

+ * [[kanteel]]

+ * [[en|cant]]

+ * [[de|Kante]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An adjective ''kant'' “ready, in order; sturdy” is recorded from 1634 and survives in ''kant-en-klaar'', “ready for use” (1684).^(EWN)^(Stoett 1923) The Philippa dictionary calls its origin unclear but thinks it is related to the noun, perhaps a Low German form of ''gekant'' “with planed edges” brought by sailors.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}