canton
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canton¹
- /ˈkæntən/
- /ˈkæntɒn/
Where it comes from
1530s, from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (“corner”); heraldic sense from the 1570s, geographic sense from c. 1600.
noun cantons · kanton
- A division of a political unit. These three millions live in a small canton of Egypt which cannot maintain twenty thousand people
- One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation.
- An administrative division within a department in France, often being a subdivision of an arrondissement. According to a peasant novelist from the Bourbonnais, this was just as true in the 1840s as it was before the Revolution: "We had not the slightest notion of the outside world. Beyond the limits of the canton, and beyond the known distances, lay mysterious lands that were thought to be dangerous and
- A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.
- A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township.
- A small community or clan.
- A subdivision of a flag, the rectangular inset on the upper hoist (i.e., flagpole) side, the upper-left quadrant of a flag, (the stars of the US national flag are in a canton).
- 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. The king gave us the arms of England to be borne in a canton in our arms.
verb cantons · cantoning · cantoned · kanton
- To delineate as a separate district.
- To divide into cantons.
- To quarter troops by requisitioning housing from the civilian population. To the end of husbanding the supplies, he will cause to be cantoned in the cities and villages the greatest possible numbers of troops
- To be allotted such quarters. An army, falling back upon its lines of magazines, may … make its retreat with more security than one which has to canton, to subsist, and to extend itself to find cantonments.
canton²
noun cantons
- A song or canto. Write loyal cantons of contemnèd love / And sing them loud even in the dead of night.
Canton³
- /ˌkænˈtɒn/
- /ˈkænˌtɒn/
Where it comes from
From Portuguese Cantão, from Mandarin 廣東 /广东 (Guǎngdōng). Doublet of Guangdong. Compare Spanish Cantón, French Canton, Italian Canton, Russian Кантон (Kanton). Unrelated to English canton.
proper noun
- Guangzhou, the capital and largest city of Guangdong, China. The Province of Quantung lies along upon the Sea-ſhore, having many convenient Havens and Harbors ; it contains ten Counties, and eighty great and ſmall Cities. Quancheu, or Canton by the Portugals, is the Metropolis and chief of the Province ; exceedingly beautified with Pagodes, Palaces, ſtately S
- Guangdong, a province of China. XVIII. Quanton, or Canton, lies Eaſt and South from Quanſi, and is the moſt Southern Province of the Empire. Nieuhoff ſays, here are ſeveral ſafe Harbours and Roads, that it produces all Neceſſaries for Life, and has two Harveſts a year. Their Winter is very warm, and their Fields always verdant.
- The Pearl River, a river in southern China.
Canton⁴
- /ˈkæntən/
- /ˈkænʔn̻/
Where it comes from
The town in Oklahoma was named for a nearby cantonment.
proper noun
- A hamlet in Ontario, Canada.
- A former settlement in El Dorado County, California.
- A town in Hartford County, Connecticut.
- A city, the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia.
- A city in Fulton County, Illinois.
- An unincorporated community in Washington Township, Washington County, Indiana.
- An unincorporated community in Jackson County and Jones County, Iowa.
- A small city in McPherson County, Kansas; named for the city in Ohio.
- A small town in Oxford County, Maine; named for the town in Massachusetts.
- A neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.
- A town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts.
- A township in Wayne County, Michigan.
- A tiny city in Fillmore County, Minnesota; named for the city in Ohio.
- A city, the county seat of Madison County, Mississippi.
- A small city in Lewis County, Missouri; named for the city in Ohio.
- A submerged ghost town in Broadwater County, Montana.
- An unincorporated community in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey.
- A town and village in St. Lawrence County, New York; the village is the county seat.
- A town in Haywood County, North Carolina; named for the city in Ohio.
- A city, the county seat of Stark County, Ohio.
- A small town in Blaine County, Oklahoma.
- A borough of Bradford County, Pennsylvania; named for the town in Massachusetts.
- A city, the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota.
- A city, the county seat of Van Zandt County, Texas.
- An unincorporated community in Doddridge County, West Virginia.
- A small town in Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
- An unincorporated community in Barron County, Wisconsin.
Canton⁵
Where it comes from
From Canna + -ton, literally “St. Canna's town”.
proper noun
- An inner city district and community in Cardiff, Wales (OS grid ref ST1676).
Canton⁶
Where it comes from
The surname is of French or Galician origin.
proper noun
- A topographical surname from French.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: guangzhou, kwangchow, quarter, billet, kuangchou, oblast, county, jiangsu, shandong, fujian, guangdong, kowloon, sichuan, jilin, gansu, anhui
Translations
Every language
noun subdivision of flag
| Español | cantón |
|---|
noun heraldry; one of the ordinaries
| Español | cantón |
|---|---|
| Português | cantão |
| Français | canton |
| Deutsch | Freiviertel |
| Italiano | cantone |
noun state of Switzerland
| Español | cantón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 주 ju |
| Português | cantão |
| Français | canton |
| Deutsch | Kanton |
| Italiano | cantone, Canton |
| Ελληνικά | καντόνι kantóni |
| Русский | канто́н kantón |
| עברית | קנטון qant'on |
noun subdivision of an arrondissement
| Español | cantón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 주 ju |
| Português | cantão |
| Français | canton |
| Deutsch | Kanton |
| Русский | канто́н kantón |
Talk about this word "canton." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/canton. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. canton. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/canton "canton." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/canton.Cite this
@misc{canton_2026,
title = {canton},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/canton},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
