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Today's Word "cant"

Empty, solemn speech, implying what is not felt on

Published in Vocabulary

cant \KANT\ (noun) - 1 : The idioms and peculiarities of speech in any sect, class, or occupation. 2 : The use of religious phraseology without understanding or sincerity. 3 : Empty, solemn speech, implying what is not felt; insincere talk; hypocrisy. 4 : A whining manner of speaking, especially of beggars.

"In spite of all his gnomic cant he was like so many other Europeans, quite unable to understand the emotional depths and subtleties of the English attitude to life." -- John Fowles, 'The Magus'

 

Cant ultimately derives from Latin cantus, singing, chanting.


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