Canton definition

kăntən, -tŏn
cantons
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Frequency:
(heraldry) A small, square division of a shield, usually in the upper right corner.
noun
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A usually rectangular division of a flag, occupying the upper corner next to the staff.
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A small territorial division of a country, especially one of the states of Switzerland.
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A subdivision of an arrondissement in France.
noun
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A city of northeast Ohio south-southeast of Akron. It was the home of President William McKinley.
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Any of the political divisions of certain countries or territories.
  • Any of the main divisions of Switzerland.
  • A division of an arrondissement in France.
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(heraldry) A small, square section of a shield, usually in the upper dexter corner.
noun
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A rectangular section in a flag, in the upper corner nearest the staff.
noun
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To divide into cantons.
verb
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To assign quarters to (troops, etc.); quarter.
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proper name
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A division of a political unit.
noun
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A small community or clan.
noun
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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).
noun
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(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.
noun
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To delineate as a separate district.
verb
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(obsolete) A song or canto.
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anagrams
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(historical) The Chinese city of Guangzhou.
pronoun
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(historical) The Chinese province of Guangdong.
pronoun
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A topographical surname​ of French or Galician derivation.
pronoun
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Alternative Forms

Alternative Form of canton - kanton

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
canton
Plural:
cantons

Origin of canton

  • French from Old French from Old Italian cantone augmentative of canto corner from Vulgar Latin cantus cant1

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old French canton (“corner”).

    From Wiktionary

Canton Sentence Examples

  • From this point the river is navigable to Canton.

  • On the dissolution which followed Lord Palmerston's defeat, Cobden became candidate for Huddersfield, but the voters of that town gave the preference to his opponent, who had supported the Russian War and approved of the proceedings at Canton.

  • On Monument Hill, in West Lawn Cemetery, in a park of 26 acres - a site which President McKinley had suggested for a monument to the soldiers and sailors of Stark county - there is a beautiful monument to the memory of McKinley, who lived in Canton.

  • His convictions on this matter were so much intensified by his later experiences as army chaplain that in 1521 he prevailed upon the authorities of the canton of Zurich to renounce the practice altogether.

  • In 1856 he commissioned the "Acorn" brig for the China station, and arrived in time to take part in the destruction of the junks in Fatshan creek on the 1st of June 1857, and in the capture of Canton in the following December, for which, in February 1858, he received a post-captain's commission.

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Also Mentioned In

Words near canton in the Dictionary