cant 1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

cant¹

PRONUNCIATION:	knt
NOUN:	1. Angular deviation from a vertical or horizontal plane or surface; an inclination or slope. 2. A slanted or oblique surface. 3a. A thrust or motion that tilts something. b. The tilt caused by such a thrust or motion. 4. An outer corner, as of a building.
VERB:	Inflected forms: cant·ed, cant·ing, cants
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To set at an oblique angle; tilt. 2. To give a slanting edge to; bevel. 3. To change the direction of suddenly.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To lean to one side; slant. 2. To take an oblique direction or course; swing around, as a ship.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, side, from Old North French, from Vulgar Latin ^*cantus, corner, from Latin canthus, rim of wheel, tire, of Celtic origin.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.