cant
noun
[ kant ]
• hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious, or political nature.
• "he had no time for the cant of the priests about sin"
Similar:
hypocrisy,
sanctimoniousness,
sanctimony,
humbug,
pietism,
affected piety,
insincerity,
sham,
lip service,
empty talk,
pretence,
Pharisaism,
Tartufferie,
• language specific to a particular group or profession and regarded with disparagement.
• "thieves' cant"
Similar:
slang,
jargon,
idiom,
argot,
patter,
patois,
vernacular,
speech,
terminology,
language,
lingo,
-speak,
-ese,
cant
verb
• talk hypocritically and sanctimoniously about something.
• "if they'd stop canting about ‘honest work’ they might get somewhere"
Origin:
early 16th century: probably from Latin cantare ‘to sing’ (see chant). The early meaning was ‘musical sound, singing’; in the mid 17th century this gave rise to the senses ‘whining manner of speaking’ and ‘form of words repeated mechanically in such a manner’ (for example a beggar's plea), hence ‘jargon’ (of beggars and other such groups).
cant
verb
• have or cause to have a slanting or oblique position; tilt.
• "he canted his head to look at the screen"
Similar:
tilt,
lean,
slant,
slope,
incline,
angle,
be at an angle,
tip,
list,
bank,
heel,
cant
noun
• a slope or tilt.
• "the outward cant of the curving walls"
• a wedge-shaped block of wood, especially one remaining after the better-quality pieces have been cut off.
• "a squared-off cant remains, containing the knottiest wood"
Origin:
Middle English (denoting an edge or brink): from Middle Low German kant, kante, Middle Dutch cant ‘point, side, edge’, based on a Romance word related to medieval Latin cantus ‘corner, side’.
Cant.
abbreviation
• Canticles (in biblical references).
