CANT

Cant

A cant is the jargon or argot of a group, often implying its use to exclude or mislead people outside the group.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Cant (language)
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

cant

Noun

  1. An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.
    He had the look of a prince, but the cant of a fishmonger.
  2. A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group.
  3. Shelta.
  4. Empty, hypocritical talk.
    People claim to care about the poor of Africa, but it is largely cant.
  5. Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
  6. A blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name of the bearer, canting arms.
  7. A call for bidders at a public fair; an auction.

Noun (etymology 2)

  1. corner, niche
  2. slope, the angle at which something is set.
  3. An outer or external angle.
  4. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a tilt.
  5. A movement or throw that overturns something.
  6. A sudden thrust, push, kick, or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so give.
    to give a ball a cant
  7. A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask.
  8. A segment of the rim of a wooden cogwheel.
  9. A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads.

Verb

  1. To speak with the jargon of a class or subgroup.
  2. To speak in set phrases.
  3. To preach in a singsong fashion, especially in a false or empty manner.
  4. Of a blazon, to make a pun that references the bearer of a coat of arms.
  5. To sell by auction, or bid at an auction.

Verb (etymology 2)

  1. To set (something) at an angle.
    to cant a cask; to cant a ship
  2. To give a sudden turn or new direction to.
    to cant round a stick of timber; to cant a football
  3. To bevel an edge or corner.
  4. To overturn so that the contents are emptied.

Verb (etymology 3)

  1. To divide or parcel out.

Adjective

  1. lively, lusty.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: cant
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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