canton

See also: cantón, Canton, and Cantón

English

Etymology 1

1530s, from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (“corner”); heraldic sense from the 1570s, geographic sense from c. 1600.

Alternative forms

• kanton

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæntn̩/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkæntɒn/ (especially in the flag sense)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

canton (plural cantons)

2. A division of a political unit.
   • 1912, Joseph McCabe (translator), We Must Take Sides; or, The Principal 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.

   2. One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation.
   3. A subdivision of an arrondissement of France.
   4. A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.
   5. (obsolete) A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township.
3. A small community or clan.
4. 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).
6. (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, […], volume I, 2nd edition, 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.

Translations

state of Switzerland

• Arabic:

  Hijazi Arabic: كانتون‎ m (kāntōn)

• Armenian: կանտոն (hy) (kanton)
• Czech: kanton (cs) m
• Danish: kanton c
• Dutch: kanton (nl) n
• Finnish: piirikunta (fi), kantoni (fi)
• French: canton (fr) m
• Georgian: კანტონი (ḳanṭoni)
• German: Kanton (de) m
• Greek: καντόνι (el) n (kantóni)
• Hebrew: קנטון‎ m (qant'on)
• Hungarian: kanton (hu)
• Icelandic: kantóna f
• Irish: cantún m
• Italian: cantone (it) m, Canton (it) (when used in the names of some cantons)
• Latin: pāgus (la) m
• Macedonian: канто́н m (kantón)
• Polish: kanton (pl) m
• Portuguese: cantão (pt) m
• Romansch: chantun m (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader), cantun m (Sursilvan), cantùn m (Sutsilvan), cantung m (Surmiran)
• Russian: канто́н (ru) m (kantón)
• Spanish: cantón (es) m
• Swedish: kanton (sv)
• Tatar: кантун (qantun)
• Turkish: kanton (tr)

subdivision of an arrondissement

• Dutch: kanton (nl) n
• Esperanto: kantono (eo)
• French: canton (fr) m
• German: Kanton (de) m
• Macedonian: канто́н m (kantón)
• Portuguese: cantão (pt) m
• Russian: канто́н (ru) m (kantón)
• Spanish: cantón (es) m
• Swedish: kanton (sv) c

subdivision of Luxembourg

• Dutch: kanton (nl) n
• French: canton (fr) m
• German: Kanton (de) m
• Icelandic: kantóna f
• Irish: cantún m
• Luxembourgish: Kanton
• Macedonian: канто́н m (kantón)
• Portuguese: cantão (pt) m
• Spanish: cantón (es) m
• Swedish: kanton (sv) c

subdivision of Serbia

• Dutch: kanton (nl) n
• French: canton (fr) m
• German: Kanton (de) m
• Irish: cantún m
• Macedonian: канто́н m (kantón)
• Portuguese: cantão (pt) m

subdivision of Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Dutch: kanton (nl) n
• French: canton (fr) m
• German: Kanton (de) m
• Irish: cantún m
• Macedonian: канто́н m (kantón)
• Portuguese: cantão (pt) m
• Swedish: kanton (sv) c

subdivision of flag

• Macedonian: канто́н m (kantón)
• Manx: kerrin m
• Spanish: cantón (es) m
• Swedish: kanton (sv) c

heraldry; one of the ordinaries

• Catalan: cantó (ca) m
• Dutch: vrijkwartier n
• Finnish: kolkka (fi)
• French: canton (fr) m
• German: Freiviertel n
• Irish: cúinneán m
• Italian: cantone (it) m
• Polish: kanton (pl) m
• Portuguese: cantão (pt) m
• Spanish: cantón (es) m
• Swedish: kanton (sv) c

Verb

canton (third-person singular simple present cantons, present participle cantoning, simple past and past participle cantoned)

1. (transitive) To delineate as a separate district.
2. (transitive) To divide into cantons.
3. (transitive) To allot quarters to troops.

Etymology 2

Noun

canton (plural cantons)

1. (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]:

     He came to whisper Wolsey.

See also

• pancit canton

Anagrams

• Conant, Nacton, cannot, nonact, noncat

French

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /kɑ̃.tɔ̃/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

canton m (plural cantons)

1. canton (of Switzerland, France or Luxembourg)
2. township (of Canada)
3. (heraldry) canton

Descendants

• → German: Kanton

Further reading

• “canton”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Occitan

Etymology

From Gallo-Italic cantone. From canto + -one. Related to Latin canthus (“rim (of a wheel)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtu/

• (file)

Noun

canton m (plural cantons)

1. corner
2. canton

Derived terms

• cantonal
• cantonar
• cantonada

Romanian

Etymology

From French canton.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈton/

Noun

canton n (plural cantoane)

1. canton

Declension

Declension of canton

	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

• cantonal

Further reading

• canton in DEX online - Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Venetian

Noun

canton m (plural cantoni)

1. corner

Derived terms

• cantonzsin