cant English · revision 5788

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kænt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|jargon; insincere talk}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1567|origins=la canto}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The jargon comes from the verb cant, to speak in the whining, singsong tone of beggars (1567),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) probably [[bor|fro-nor|canter|t=to sing, chant]] (Old French chanter),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la|cantāre]], the frequentative of [[m|la|canere|t=to sing]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*kan-|t=to sing]]; it is a doublet of [[chant]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The Century Dictionary, as quoted by Etymonline, suggests an allusion to the perfunctory singing of church services and so to hypocritical religious phrases;^(Etymonline) Latin cantāre was used contemptuously of church services by 1180.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, to speak in a whining voice or to beg, is from 1567, the 1560s in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the noun, the whining speech of beggars, is from 1640.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To speak the jargon of thieves and vagabonds is from about 1600,^(Etymonline) and the noun for the special language of a group, such as criminals, from 1681, in Dryden.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The sense spread after 1680 to the jargon of any sect or school, used contemptuously by its rivals.^(Etymonline) Pretentious or insincere talk, especially pious platitudes, is from 1709,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the verb, to talk hypocritically, from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) The adjective, of the nature of cant, is from the early 18th century.^(SOED 2002) John S. Farmer (1896) distinguished cant, restricted to thieves and vagrants, from slang, which is universal.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1567 – to whine, beg.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1640 – the whining speech of beggars.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – to talk hypocritically.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1681 – the jargon of a group.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1709 – insincere talk.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Insincere talk, especially about [[religion]] or morals; empty platitudes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The special vocabulary of a group, such as thieves; [[jargon]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' The whining speech of [[beggar|alt=beggars]].^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To talk in a hypocritical or pious way, or in jargon.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ {{homograph|2|slope, tilt}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1375|origins=dum cant}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The slope or edge is probably [[bor|dum|cant|t=border, edge, side]] or Middle Low German kant, kante,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) or else Old North French cant “corner”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la-vul|*cantus]], *canthus “corner, edge”, from [[la|cantus|t=iron tire of a wheel]], possibly of Celtic origin (compare Welsh cant “rim, edge”).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) The OED notes that words of the same form and sense are found in many European languages.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[decant]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Edge or brink: about 1375 in Barbour's ''Bruce'', in Scots.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A nook or corner in a building is from 1481–90, now obsolete,^(OED 1989) and the word was rare in English before about 1600.^(Etymonline) The verb, to slant or bevel, is from 1542–43,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and to toss or tilt from the 16th century, whence a new noun for a toss, slope or tilt in the 18th century.^(Hoad 1986) An oblique surface cutting off a corner is from 1840,^(OED 1989) and a slope or tilting position from 1847.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1375 – an edge (Scots).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1481–90 – a nook, corner.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1542–43 – the verb, to slant.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1840 – an oblique surface.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1847 – a slope.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[slope]] or tilt.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A slanting surface, or a corner cut off at an [[angle]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To tilt, or set at an angle.^(AHD)

+ # To [[bevel]] an edge.^(AHD)

+

+ ==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”;^(SOED 2002) cant, an auction, chiefly Anglo-Irish;^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898) and obsolete cant, a portion or share.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) The contraction can't of cannot is unrelated.^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}