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This is not about what you think it may be. 

Whenever I see the word "canting", as it has been appearing in recent Language Log posts, I can't help but pronounce it as pinyin (MSM) cāntīng 餐廳 ("canteen; cafeteria; dining hall; dining room; restaurant").  The two morphosyllables respectively mean "dining" and "hall".

• Mandarin

(Standard)

(Pinyin): cāntīng

(Zhuyin): ㄘㄢ ㄊㄧㄥ

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): цантин (cantin, I-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): caan¹ teng¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhôn-thâng

  (Hailu, HRS): con^ˋ tang^ˋ

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): chhan-thiaⁿ

  (Teochew, Peng'im): cang¹ tian¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹tshoe-thin; ¹tshe-thin

(Wiktionary; see Appendix for more detailed notes in various Sinitic topolects)

The fact that MSM cāntīng means exactly the same thing as English "canteen" adds to the befuddlement, but, as we shall see in the following paragraphs, the two words (cāntīng and "canting") are completely unrelated and mean two entirely different things.

English "canting", as we've been discussing it in the past week or so, means:

1560s, "practice of using thieves' cant," verbal noun from cant (v.1).

—–

cant (v.1)

1560s, "to speak in a whining voice," from cant (n.1). From c. 1600 as "to speak in the jargon of thieves and vagabonds;" 1670s as "talk hypocritically in pompous phraseology."

(etymonline)

I first learned about the English word in the expression "thieves' cant":

Thieves' cant (also known as thieves' argot, rogues' cant, or peddler's French) is a cant, cryptolect, or argot which was formerly used by thieves, beggars, and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English-speaking countries. It is now mostly obsolete and used in literature and fantasy role-playing, although individual terms continue to be used in the criminal subcultures of Britain and the United States.

Cant is a common feature of rogue literature of the Elizabethan era in England, in both pamphlets and theatre. It was claimed by Samuel Rid to have been devised around 1530 by two vagabond leaders – Giles Hather, of the "Egyptians", and Cock Lorell, of the "Quartern of Knaves" – at The Devil's Arse, a cave in Derbyshire, "to the end that their cozenings, knaveries and villainies might not so easily be perceived and known".

^{(Wikipedia — with much talk of canting [including dictionaries] and Romany language)}

There are other English "canting" terms, e.g.:

(Collins)

Still other meanings for "cant":

cant1 /kænt/
   n. [uncountable]

    insincere, false, or hypocritical statements:  a lot of pretentious cant.

cant2 /kænt/   n. 

    [countable]
    a sudden movement that tilts or overturns a thing.
    a slanting or tilted position.

v. [no object]

    to tilt or turn with a sudden jerk:The boat canted violently.

(WordReference)

From Javanese:

Cantingꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ

Canting used in the batik-making process
Other names	tjanting (in Javindo)
Types	Rengreng, Isen, Cecek, Klowong, Tembokan, Cecekan, Loron, Telon, Prapatan, Liman, Byok, Galaran
Used with	Wax, Batik
Inventor	Javanese
Manufacturer	Javanese (part of Native Indonesians, Java-origin)
Related

Canting (/t͡ʃɑntɪŋ/, from Javanese ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, canṭing; Javindo: tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax (malam) in the traditional native Javan batik-making process in Indonesian island of Java (mainly and originally), more precisely for the batik tulis (lit. 'hand-crafted batik'). Traditional Canting consists of copper wax-container with small pipe spout and bamboo handle. It is commonly made of copper, bronze, zinc or iron materials, as well as teflon in modern-days.

Canting is derived from Javanese word of canthing ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ (IPA: t͡ʃɑnʈɪŋ) which means the small scooping tool.^[

(Wikipedia)

The above is not an exhaustive listing of "cant(ing)" words, e.g. heraldry, horse's gait.

 

Selected readings

• "The Canting Crew" (11/24/25)
• "Canting Crew words" (11/25/25)
• "Insults, oaths, and curses in the Middle Ages" (5/26/25)

 

Appendix

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: cāntīng
    • Zhuyin: ㄘㄢ ㄊㄧㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: canting
    • Wade–Giles: tsʻan¹-tʻing¹
    • Yale: tsān-tīng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsanting
    • Palladius: цаньтин (canʹtin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰän⁵⁵ tʰiŋ⁵⁵/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: цантин (cantin, I-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰæ̃²⁴ tʰiŋ²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: caan¹ teng¹
    • Yale: chāan tēng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsaan¹ teng¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: can¹ téng¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰaːn⁵⁵ tʰɛːŋ⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhôn-thâng
    • Hakka Romanization System: con^ˊ tang^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: con¹ tang¹
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰon²⁴⁻¹¹ tʰaŋ²⁴/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: con^ˋ tang^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰon⁵³ tʰaŋ⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhan-thiaⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tshan-thiann
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhantviaf
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Singapore): /t͡sʰan⁴⁴⁻²² tʰiã⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰan⁴⁴⁻³³ tʰiã⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰan³³ tʰiã³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: cang¹ tian¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tshang thiaⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰaŋ³³⁻²³ tʰĩã³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹tshoe-thin; ¹tshe-thin
    • MiniDict: tshoe^平 thin; tshe^平 thin
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹tshoe-thin; ¹tshe-thin
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sʰø⁵⁵ tʰin²¹/, /t͡sʰe⁵⁵ tʰin²¹/

November 28, 2025 @ 8:31 am · Filed by Victor Mair under False friends, Slang

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