CANT


Meaning of CANT in English

~ 1 [ kant ]

■ noun

1》 hypocritical and sanctimonious talk.

2》 derogatory language peculiar to a specified group: thieves' ~.

↘[as modifier ] denoting a phrase or catchword temporarily current.

■ verb dated talk hypocritically and sanctimoniously.

Origin

C16 (in sense 'singing', later 'whining speech', as of a beggar), hence 'jargon': prob. from L. ~are (see chant ).

————————

~ 2 [ kant ]

■ verb be or cause to be in a slanting or oblique position; tilt.

↘(of a ship) swing round.

■ noun

1》 a slope or tilt.

2》 a wedge-shaped block of wood remaining after the better-quality pieces have been cut off.

Origin

ME (denoting an edge or brink): from Mid. Low Ger. kant , kante , MDu. ~ , 'point, side, edge', related to med. L. ~us 'corner, side'.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.