canton
pronunciation
How to pronounce canton in British English:
UK [ˈkæntɒn]
How to pronounce canton in American English:
US [ˈkæntən]
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- Noun:
- a small administrative division of a country
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- Verb:
- provide housing for (military personnel)
- divide into cantons, of a country
Word Origin
- canton
- canton: see cant
- canton (n.)
- 1530s, "corner, angle," from Middle French canton "piece, portion of a country" (13c.), from Italian (Lombard dialect) cantone "region," especially in the mountains, augmentative of Latin canto "section of a country," literally "corner" (see cant (n.2)). Originally in English a term in heraldry and flag descriptions; applied to the sovereign states of the Swiss republic from 1610s. Related: Cantoned.
Example
- 1. There were two spaces on the morning plane to canton .
- 2. We ate at the canton restaurant .
- 3. The decline in orders at the canton fair nonetheless caught traders and investors by surprise .
- 4. Compact and cohesive electorates , such as in a swiss canton , are unusually good places for such votes to work : voters are more likely to ponder the issues fully beforehand , and to deal maturely with the result afterwards .
- 5. They captured shanghai and canton .