cant

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun stock phrases that have become nonsense through endless repetition
  2. noun a slope in the turn of a road or track; the outside is higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force
  3. noun a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)

Etymology

From Latin cantō, probably via Old Northern French canter (“sing, tell”). Doublet of chant.

In classic literature

Synonyms

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