canton
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
1530s, from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (“corner”); heraldic sense from the 1570s, geographic sense from c. 1600.
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /ˈkæntn̩/
- IPA(key): /ˈkæntɒn/ (especially in the flag sense)
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun edit
canton (plural cantons)
- A division of a political unit.
- 1912, Joseph McCabe (translator), We Must Take Sides; or, The Principle of Action (originally by Voltaire)
- These three millions live in a small canton of Egypt which cannot maintain twenty thousand people
- 20 May, 1686, Gilbert Burnet, letter from Nimmengen
- There is another piece of Holbein's, […] in which, in six several cantons, the several parts of our Saviour's passion are represented.
- One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation.
- A subdivision of an arrondissement of France.
- A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.
- (obsolete) A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township.
- 1912, Joseph McCabe (translator), We Must Take Sides; or, The Principle of Action (originally by Voltaire)
- A small community or clan.
- A subdivision of a flag, the rectangular inset on the upper hoist (i.e., flagpole) side (e.g., the stars of the US national flag are in a canton).
- (heraldry) A division of a shield occupying one third of the chief, usually on the dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side.
- 1662 August 31 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 21 August 1662]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
- The king gave us the arms of England to be borne in a canton in our arms.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Verb edit
canton (third-person singular simple present cantons, present participle cantoning, simple past and past participle cantoned)
- (transitive) To delineate as a separate district.
- (transitive) To divide into cantons.
- (transitive) To quarter troops by requisitioning housing from the civilian population.
- 1854, O. F. Winship, E. E. McLean (translators), Summary of the Art of War (originally by Antoine-Henri Jomini)
- To the end of husbanding the supplies, he will cause to be cantoned in the cities and villages the greatest possible numbers of troops
- 1854, O. F. Winship, E. E. McLean (translators), Summary of the Art of War (originally by Antoine-Henri Jomini)
- (intransitive) To be allotted such quarters.
- 1854, O. F. Winship, E. E. McLean (translators), Summary of the Art of War (originally by Antoine-Henri Jomini)
- An army, falling back upon its lines of magazines, may [...] make its retreat with more security than one which has to canton, to subsist, and to extend itself to find cantonments.
- 1854, O. F. Winship, E. E. McLean (translators), Summary of the Art of War (originally by Antoine-Henri Jomini)
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
canton (plural cantons)
- (obsolete) A song or canto.
- c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:
- Write loyal cantons of contemnèd love / And sing them loud even in the dead of night.
See also edit
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (from the 1240s), from Old Occitan canton (“corner; canton”) (recorded before 1218), adopted in Occitan from North Italian (Gallo-Italic, early Lombard) cantone (“edge, corner; canton”), ultimately representing Latin cant- (“rim (of a wheel)”) with the addition of the -ō (accusative -ōnem) suffix forming augmentatives in Romance.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
canton m (plural cantons)
Descendants edit
- → German: Kanton
Further reading edit
- “canton”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Occitan edit
Etymology edit
From Gallo-Italic cantone. From canto + -one. Related to Latin canthus (“rim (of a wheel)”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
canton m (plural cantons)
Derived terms edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
canton n (plural cantoane)
Declension edit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) canton | cantonul | (niște) cantoane | cantoanele |
genitive/dative | (unui) canton | cantonului | (unor) cantoane | cantoanelor |
vocative | cantonule | cantoanelor |
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- canton in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Venetian edit
Noun edit
canton m (plural cantoni)
Derived terms edit
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Switzerland
- en:France
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Quebec
- en:Heraldic charges
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English heteronyms
- en:Administrative divisions
- en:Flags
- en:Geography
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Old Occitan
- French terms derived from Lombard
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Heraldic charges
- fr:Geography
- Occitan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Occitan terms with audio links
- Occitan lemmas
- Occitan nouns
- Occitan masculine nouns
- Occitan countable nouns
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- Venetian lemmas
- Venetian nouns
- Venetian masculine nouns