cant1
/
kant/
n.
- hypocritical and sanctimonious talk.
- derogatory language peculiar to a specified group:
thieves' cant.
▸
[as modifier]
denoting a phrase or catchword temporarily current.
v.
dated talk hypocritically and sanctimoniously.
Etymology
C16 (in sense ‘singing’, later ‘whining speech’, as of a beggar), hence ‘jargon’: prob. from L. cantare (see chant).
cant2
/
kant/
v.
be or cause to be in a slanting or oblique position; tilt.
▸(of a ship) swing round.
n.
a slope or tilt.
Etymology
ME (denoting an edge or brink): from Mid. Low Ger. kant, kante, MDu. cant, ‘point, side, edge’, rel. to med. L. cantus ‘corner, side’.