Definition of "cant" in Anglais

noun

1. (countable) An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.

   • He had the look of a prince, but the cant of a fishmonger.

2. (countable, uncountable) A private or secret language used by a religious sect, gang, or other group.

3. A language spoken by some Irish Travellers; Shelta.

4. (uncountable, derogatory) Empty, hypocritical talk.

5. (uncountable) Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.

6. (countable, heraldry) A blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer, canting arms.

7. (obsolete) A call for bidders at a public fair; an auction.

verb

1. (intransitive) To speak with the jargon of a class or subgroup.

2. (intransitive) To speak in set phrases.

3. (intransitive) To talk, beg, or preach in a singsong or whining fashion, especially in a false or empty manner.

4. (intransitive, heraldry) Of a blazon, to make a pun that references the bearer of a coat of arms.

5. (obsolete) To sell by auction, or bid at an auction.

noun

1. (obsolete) Side, edge, corner, niche.

   • under the cant of a hill

2. Slope, the angle at which something is set.

3. A corner (of a building).

4. An outer or external angle.

5. An inclination from a horizontal or vertical line; a slope or bevel; a tilt.

6. A movement or throw that overturns something.

   • It is not only of great service in keeping the boat in her due position on the sea, but also in creating a tendency immediately to recover from any sudden cant, or lurch, from a heavy wave; and it is besides beneficial in diminishing the violence of beating against the sides of the vessel which she may go to relieve.

7. A sudden thrust, push, kick, or other impulse, producing a bias or change of direction; also, the bias or turn so given.

   • to give a ball a cant

8. (coopering) A segment forming a side piece in the head of a cask.

9. A segment of the rim of a wooden cogwheel.

10. (nautical) A piece of wood laid upon the deck of a vessel to support the bulkheads.

11. (lumbering) An unfinished log after preliminary cutting.

verb

1. (transitive) To set (something) at an angle; to tilt.