Wiktionary

can

See also: Appendix:Variations of "can"
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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology 1

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From Middle English can, first and third person singular of connen, cunnen (“to be able, know how”), from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (whence also know). Doublet of con. See also: canny, cunning.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Pronunciation notes

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  • Some US dialects that glottalize the final /t/ in can’t ([kæn(ʔ)]), in order to differentiate can’t from can, pronounce can as /kɛn/ even when stressed.

Verb

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can (third-person singular simple present can, present participle (by suppletion) able, simple past could, past participle (obsolete except in adjectival use) couth)

  1. (auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to; to be able to.
    Synonym: be able to
    Antonyms: cannot, can't
    She can speak English, French, and German.
    I can play football.
    Can you remember your fifth birthday?
    • 1449, Reginald Pecock, Represser of over-much weeting [blaming] of the Clergie:
      prouyng which eny clerk can or woel or mai make bi eny maner euydence of resoun or of Scripture, and namelich of resoun into the contrarie.
    • 2013 July–August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist:
      Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.
    • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
      If thou canst awake by four o' the clock, / I prithee call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly.
  2. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to.
    Synonym: may
    You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.
    Can I use your pen?
  3. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; be possible.
    Can it be Friday already?
    Teenagers can really try their parents' patience.
    Animals can experience emotions.
    • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
      The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
    • 2009, Annette Sym, Simply Too Good to be True, Greenleaf Book Group, →ISBN, page 4:
      Teenagers can be so cruel, and nicknames cut deep.
  4. (auxiliary verb, defective) Used with verbs of perception.
    Can you hear that?
    I can feel the baby moving inside me.
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To know.
    Synonyms: cognize, grok, ken
  6. (India, nonstandard, proscribed) To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed).
    • 2011 November 29, Tai-hoon Kim, Hojjat Adeli, Carlos Ramos, Byeong-Ho Kang, Signal Processing, Image Processing and Pattern Recognition: International Conferences, SIP 2011, Held as Part of the Future Generation Information Technology Conference, FGIT 2011, in Conjunction with GDC 2011, Jeju Island, Korea, December 8-10, 2011. Proceedings, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 114:
      Importance of Identifying Leaf: Identify Plants: If we can able to identify leaf, we can easily able to identify plants.
    • 2018 February 15, Asha Bajpai, Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:
      Children in need of care and protection can allowed to be placed in foster care based on the orders of the CWC. The selection of the foster family is based on the family's ability, intent, capacity, and prior experience of taking care […]
    • 2020 May 22, Pardeep Kumar, Vasaki Ponnusamy, Vishal Jain, Industrial Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems: Transforming the Conventional to Digital: Transforming the Conventional to Digital, IGI Global, →ISBN, page 226:
      It can possible to design the ruleset refreshes that allow them to subsequently run at precise interludes and these keep informed.
Usage notes
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  • For missing forms, substitute inflected forms of be able to, as:
    • I might be able to go.
    • I have been able to go, since I was seven.
    • I had been able to go before.
    • I will be able to go tomorrow.
  • The word could also suffices in many tenses. “I would be able to go” is equivalent to “I could go”, and “I was able to go” can be rendered “I could go”. (Unless there is a clear indication otherwise, “could verb” means “was able to verb”, but “could not verb” means “was/were unable to verb”.)
  • The present tense negative can not is usually contracted to cannot (more formal) or can’t (less formal).
  • The use of can in asking permission sometimes is criticized as being impolite or incorrect by those who favour the more formal alternative “may I...?”.
  • Can is sometimes used rhetorically to issue a command, placing the command in the form of a request. For instance, “Can you hand me that pen?” as a polite substitution for “Hand me that pen.”
  • Some US dialects that glottalize the final /t/ in can’t (/kæn(ʔ)/), in order to differentiate can’t from can, pronounce can as /kɛn/ even when stressed.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of can
infinitive —
present tense past tense
1st-person singular can could, coulde†
2nd-person singular can, canst†, canest†, cannest† could, couldst†, couldest†, could'st†
3rd-person singular can, canneth† could, coulde†
plural can
subjunctive can could, coulde†
imperative can† —
participles canning† could*, coulde†

†Archaic or obsolete. * Dialectal.

Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
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Interjection

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can (Manglish, Singlish)

  1. OK, sure; indicates approval or acknowledgment.
  2. (with falling or rising-falling pitch) Used to convey reassurance.

Particle

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can (Manglish, Singlish)

  1. (interrogative) Tagged at the end of a question when seeking approval or acknowledgment.
    I cut this wire, can? ― I’ll cut this wire, OK?
    • 2020 June 29, Poh Yong Han, “A Regular Singaporean’s Guide To Each Party’s Vision For The Economy”, in ricemedia.co‎[1], archived from the original on 23 May 2024:
      It feels like a cheap gimmick to attract environmentalist types, when I don’t see any concrete policies to address that. If you don’t care, then don’t pretend to care leh. If you care, then make sure you got details to back you up, can?

Etymology 2

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From Middle English canne, from Old English canne (“glass, container, cup, can”), from Proto-Germanic *kannǭ (“can, tankard, mug, cup”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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An unlabeled, corrugated can (sense 1), often used to store preserved foods.
 
A can (sense 1) of hair spray with a clear cap.

can (plural cans)

  1. A more or less cylindrical and often metal container or vessel.
    Synonym: (Australia, Britain, and some Commonwealth nations) tin
  2. A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).
  3. (archaic) A chamber pot.
    1. (US, slang) a toilet or lavatory.
      (toilet): Synonyms: see Thesaurus:chamber pot, Thesaurus:toilet
      (place with a toilet): Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom
      Shit or get off the can.
      Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me.
      • 1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 35:
        I didn't have anything special to do, so I went down to the can and chewed the rag with him while he was shaving.
      • 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
        If he was going to hide out in the can, he can just stay there & sleep in the tub.
  4. (US, slang) Buttocks.
  5. (slang) Jail or prison.
    Bob’s in the can. He won’t be back for a few years.
    • 1988, The Traveling Wilburys (lyrics and music), “Tweeter and the Monkey Man”, in The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1:
      The undercover cop never liked the Monkey Man / Even back in childhood, he wanted to see him in the can
  6. (slang, in the plural) Headphones.
  7. (archaic) A drinking cup.
  8. (nautical) A cylindrical buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark
  9. A chimney pot.
  10. (slang, in the plural) An E-meter used in Scientology auditing.
  11. (US, slang) An ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana.
    • 1970, California. Supreme Court, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of California:
      […] prosecution for selling and giving away marijuana, the evidence clearly constituted substantial proof that a package purchased by defendant contained marijuana where he requested "four cans" of marijuana to be delivered to himself and […]
  12. A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor.
  13. (vulgar, slang, Canada, US) The breasts of a woman.
Hyponyms
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Hyponyms of can (Etymology 2)
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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can (third-person singular simple present cans, present participle canning, simple past and past participle canned)

  1. (transitive) To seal in a can.
    They canned air to sell as a novelty to tourists.
  2. (transitive) To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can.
    They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.
  3. (transitive) To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).
    He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.
    • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, pages 67–68:
      My next stop is Oxford, which has also grown with the addition of new platforms to accommodate the Chiltern Railways service to London via Bicester - although, short sightedly, the planned electrification from Paddington was canned. Evidence of the volte-face can be seen along the line at places such as Radley, where mast piles are already sunk or lie discarded at the lineside.
  4. (transitive, slang) To shut up.
    Can your gob.
  5. (US, euphemistic, transitive) To fire or dismiss an employee.
    The boss canned him for speaking out.
    • 2022 November 25, B. Cost, “Man wins legal right to be 'boring' at work, gets $3K from company”, in New York Post‎[3], NYP Holdings, retrieved 2022-11-27:
      As a result of his refusal, the employee was subsequently canned in 2015 on the basis of "professional inadequacy" and failing to embody the "party" atmosphere that the consultancy was trying to cultivate.
  6. (golf, slang, transitive) To hole the ball.
    • 1958, Dick Mayer, How to Think and Swing Like a Golf Champion, page 186:
      I thought I had canned it, but it just missed, and I tapped in the second one for a par.
  7. (transitive) To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective cover.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of can
infinitive (to) can
present tense past tense
1st-person singular can canned
2nd-person singular
3rd-person singular cans
plural can
subjunctive can canned
imperative can —
participles canning canned
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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See also

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References

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  • “can”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

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Afar

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Can.

Etymology

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Related to Somali caano, Oromo aannan and Saho xan.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈħan/ [ˈħʌn]
  • Hyphenation: can

Noun

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cán m (plural caanowá f or canooná f)

  1. milk

Declension

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Declension of cán
absolutive cán
predicative cána
subjective cán
genitive cantí
Postpositioned forms
l-case cánal
k-case cának
t-case cánat
h-case cánah

References

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  • Loren F. Bliese (1981) A Generative Grammar of Afar‎[4], Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington (doctoral thesis).
  • E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “can”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
  • Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎[5], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Aragonese

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Etymology

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From Latin canis, canem.

Noun

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can m (plural cans)

  1. dog

References

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Asturian

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Etymology

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From Latin canis, canem.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m (plural canes)

  1. dog (animal)

Synonyms

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Azerbaijani

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Other scripts
Cyrillic ҹан
Abjad جان

Etymology

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From Persian جان (jân).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can (definite accusative canı, plural canlar)

  1. soul, spirit
  2. being, creature, life
  3. body (in expressions concerning body sensations)
    Synonym: bədən
    Canım ağrıyır. ― My body is aching.
    Canıma üşütmə düşdü. ― My body is shivering.
  4. force, vigour
  5. life (the state of organisms preceding their death)
    canını almaq ― to kill (literally, “to take the life of”)

Declension

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    Declension of can
singular plural
nominative can
 canlar
definite accusative canı
 canları
dative cana
 canlara
locative canda
 canlarda
ablative candan
 canlardan
definite genitive canın
 canların
    Possessive forms of can
nominative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) canım canlarım
sənin (“your”) canın canların
onun (“his/her/its”) canı canları
bizim (“our”) canımız canlarımız
sizin (“your”) canınız canlarınız
onların (“their”) canı or canları canları
accusative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) canımı canlarımı
sənin (“your”) canını canlarını
onun (“his/her/its”) canını canlarını
bizim (“our”) canımızı canlarımızı
sizin (“your”) canınızı canlarınızı
onların (“their”) canını or canlarını canlarını
dative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) canıma canlarıma
sənin (“your”) canına canlarına
onun (“his/her/its”) canına canlarına
bizim (“our”) canımıza canlarımıza
sizin (“your”) canınıza canlarınıza
onların (“their”) canına or canlarına canlarına
locative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) canımda canlarımda
sənin (“your”) canında canlarında
onun (“his/her/its”) canında canlarında
bizim (“our”) canımızda canlarımızda
sizin (“your”) canınızda canlarınızda
onların (“their”) canında or canlarında canlarında
ablative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) canımdan canlarımdan
sənin (“your”) canından canlarından
onun (“his/her/its”) canından canlarından
bizim (“our”) canımızdan canlarımızdan
sizin (“your”) canınızdan canlarınızdan
onların (“their”) canından or canlarından canlarından
genitive
singular plural
mənim (“my”) canımın canlarımın
sənin (“your”) canının canlarının
onun (“his/her/its”) canının canlarının
bizim (“our”) canımızın canlarımızın
sizin (“your”) canınızın canlarınızın
onların (“their”) canının or canlarının canlarının

Derived terms

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Contraction

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can

  1. Contraction of ca en (“the house of”).

Further reading

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Chinese

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Etymology 1

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Clipping of English canteen.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) canteen; restaurant (in a university campus)

Etymology 2

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Clipping of English cancer.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) cancer
Synonyms
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Classical Nahuatl

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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cān

  1. where

Derived terms

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Galician

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Can ("dog")

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese can, from Latin canis, canem. Cognate with Portuguese cão.

Noun

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can m (plural cans)

  1. dog
    Cando o can ladra na rúa, non ladra de balde.
    When the dog barks in the street, it does not bark for nothing
  2. (historical) 20th century 5, 10 cents of peseta coin
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Etymology 2

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Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese quan, from Latin quam. Cognate with Portuguese quão and Spanish cuan.

Noun

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can m (plural cans)

  1. how

Etymology 3

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Borrowed from Old French chan, from Medieval Latin canus, ultimately from Turkic *qan, contraction of *qaɣan.

Noun

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can m (plural cans)

  1. khan

References

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Interlingua

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Noun

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can (plural canes)

  1. dog
  2. cock, hammer (of a firearm)

Irish

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Irish canaid,[1] from Proto-Celtic *kaneti (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-. Compare Welsh canu, Latin canō, Ancient Greek καναχέω (kanakhéō), Persian خواندن (xândan).

Verb

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can (present analytic canann, future analytic canfaidh, verbal noun canadh, past participle canta)

  1. to sing
    • 2015 [2014], Will Collins, translated by Proinsias Mac a' Bhaird, edited by Maura McHugh, Amhrán na Mara (fiction; paperback), Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Howth, Dublin: Cartoon Saloon; Coiscéim, translation of Song of the Sea (in English), →ISBN, page 1:
      Thuas i dteach an tsolais, faoi réaltaí geala, canann Bronach Amhrán na Mara dá mac Ben atá cúig bliana d'aois.
      [original: Up in the lighthouse, under twinkling stars, Bronach sings the Song of the Sea to her five-year-old son, Ben.]
  2. (Ulster) to speak, talk
    Synonyms: labhair, bí ag caint
Conjugation
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conjugation of can (first conjugation – A)
singular plural relative autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present canaim canann tú;
canair† 		canann sé, sí canaimid canann sibh canann siad;
canaid† 		a chanann; a chanas /
a gcanann* 		cantar
past chan mé; chanas chan tú; chanais chan sé, sí chanamar; chan muid chan sibh; chanabhair chan siad; chanadar a chan /
ar chan* 		canadh
past habitual chanainn / gcanainn‡‡ chantá / gcantᇇ chanadh sé, sí / gcanadh sé, s퇇 chanaimis; chanadh muid / gcanaimis‡‡; gcanadh muid‡‡ chanadh sibh / gcanadh sibh‡‡ chanaidís; chanadh siad / gcanaidís‡‡; gcanadh siad‡‡ a chanadh /
a gcanadh* 		chantaí / gcanta퇇
future canfaidh mé;
canfad 		canfaidh tú;
canfair† 		canfaidh sé, sí canfaimid;
canfaidh muid 		canfaidh sibh canfaidh siad;
canfaid† 		a chanfaidh; a chanfas /
a gcanfaidh* 		canfar
conditional chanfainn / gcanfainn‡‡ chanfá / gcanfᇇ chanfadh sé, sí / gcanfadh sé, s퇇 chanfaimis; chanfadh muid / gcanfaimis‡‡; gcanfadh muid‡‡ chanfadh sibh / gcanfadh sibh‡‡ chanfaidís; chanfadh siad / gcanfaidís‡‡; gcanfadh siad‡‡ a chanfadh /
a gcanfadh* 		chanfaí / gcanfa퇇
subjunctive present go gcana mé;
go gcanad† 		go gcana tú;
go gcanair† 		go gcana sé, sí go gcanaimid;
go gcana muid 		go gcana sibh go gcana siad;
go gcanaid† 		— go gcantar
past dá gcanainn dá gcantá dá gcanadh sé, sí dá gcanaimis;
dá gcanadh muid 		dá gcanadh sibh dá gcanaidís;
dá gcanadh siad 		— dá gcantaí
imperative canaim can canadh sé, sí canaimis canaigí;
canaidh† 		canaidís — cantar
verbal noun canadh
past participle canta

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form
‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

Etymology 2

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Noun

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can m (genitive singular cana)

  1. sawdust, wood shavings
  2. dandruff
Declension
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Declension of can (third declension, no plural)
bare forms
case singular
nominative can
vocative a chan
genitive cana
dative can
forms with the definite article
case singular
nominative an can
genitive an chana
dative leis an gcan
don chan

Etymology 3

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Noun

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can m

  1. state, condition

Adverb

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can

  1. (literary) whence
Derived terms
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Mutation

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Mutated forms of can
radical lenition eclipsis
can chan gcan

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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  1. ^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “canaid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Further reading

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Istriot

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Etymology

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From Latin canis.

Noun

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can m

  1. dog

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkan/
  • Rhymes: -an
  • Hyphenation: càn

Etymology 1

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From Turkic.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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can m (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of khan

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

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can m (apocopated)

  1. (poetic, literary) Apocopic form of cane; dog

Ligurian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin canis, canem (“dog”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m (plural chen, diminutive cagnetto or cagnin, feminine cagna)

  1. dog, male dog
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Lombard

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Etymology

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From Latin Latin canis. Cognate with Italian cane.

Noun

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can

  1. dog

Malay

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Noun

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can

  1. (Pontianak) job
  2. (Medan) opportunity

Mandarin

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Romanization

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can

  1. Nonstandard spelling of cān.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of cán.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of cǎn.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of càn.

Usage notes

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  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle Dutch

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Verb

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can

  1. first/third-person singular present indicative of connen

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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can

  1. Alternative form of canne

Etymology 2

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Verb

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can

  1. Alternative form of cunnen

Northern Kurdish

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Etymology

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Akin to Central Kurdish, Southern Kurdish and Gurani گیان (gian), Zazaki gan, Persian جان (jân); from Proto-Iranian *wyaHnáH. Badini giyan is borrowed from Sorani.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m

  1. spirit
  2. dear
    Bra can!
    Dear brother!
  3. A suffix for showing endearment mostly used by children towards family members
    Bavo can
    Daddy
    Daê can
    Mommy

Usage notes

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In formal settings, can usually cannot be used to mean "dear" and hêja is used instead.

Occitan

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Etymology

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From Old Occitan [Term?], from Latin canis, canem.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m (plural cans, feminine canha, feminine plural canhas)

  1. dog, hound

Old English

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Verb

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can

  1. first/third-person singular preterite indicative of cunnan

Old Galician-Portuguese

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Etymology

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From Latin canem (“dog”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m (plural cans)

  1. dog

Descendants

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  • Galician: can
  • Portuguese: cão

Old Occitan

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin quandō.

Conjunction

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can

  1. when

Adverb

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can

  1. (interrogative) when

Descendants

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Salar

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Etymology

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From Persian جان (jân, “soul, life, life force”).

Pronunciation

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  • (Jiezi, Gaizi, Qingshui, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [ʒɑn]
  • (Jiezi, Gaizi, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [ʒɑːn]
  • (Mengda, Qingshui, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [ʝɑn]

Noun

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can

  1. soul

References

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  • Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “can”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, pages 371, 564

Scots

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Etymology

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From Middle English can, first and third person singular of connen, cunnen (“to be able, know how”), from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (whence know).

Verb

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can (third-person singular simple present can, simple past cud)

  1. can
  2. be able to
    He shuid can dae that. ― He should be able to do that.

Derived terms

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Scottish Gaelic

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Etymology

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From Old Irish canaid (“to sing”), from Proto-Celtic *kaneti (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-. Compare Welsh canu, Latin canō, Ancient Greek καναχέω (kanakhéō), Persian خواندن (xândan).

Verb

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can (past chan, future canaidh, verbal noun cantainn or canail or cantail, past participle cante)

  1. to say
    cha chan mi càil mus can mi cus ― I won't say anything before I've said too much
  2. to sing (a song)
  3. future indicative dependent of can

Usage notes

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  • In most dialects of Scottish Gaelic still spoken, with the notable exception of Islay, the future and conditional tenses and the imperative form are very often used for the verb abair in place of the actual abair forms, particularly in colloquial language; the abair forms are recognised but considered Biblical or excessively formal. Some northern dialects, such as Skye and Lewis, extend this to verbal noun forms derived from can, such as cantainn and canail.

References

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  • Edward Dwelly (1911) “can”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎[6], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN

Spanish

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Etymology

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Inherited from Latin canis, canem (“dog”). Cognate with Catalan ca, Portuguese cão.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m (plural canes)

  1. (formal) dog, hound
    Synonyms: perro, (colloquial) chucho

Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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Further reading

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Tày

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Chinese 乾 / 干.

Adjective

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can

  1. dried up
    nà can ― dried up field
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Chinese 干.

Noun

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can (干)

  1. heavenly stem

Verb

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can

  1. to concern; to involve
    nắm can lăng thâng te ― to not have any relations to them

Etymology 3

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Borrowed from Vietnamese can.

Verb

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can (干)

  1. to dissuade
    can nắm hẩư tò đá ― to dissuade from insults
  2. to warn and advise someone against
    Me̱ can lục bấu pây liê̱u.
    I advise you not to go out.

References

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  • Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎[7][8] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
  • Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎[9] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

Turkish

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Etymology

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From Ottoman Turkish جان, from Persian جان (jân, “soul, vital spirit, life”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can (definite accusative canı, plural canlar)

  1. soul, life, being
  2. sweetheart

Declension

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Inflection
Nominative can
Definite accusative canı
Singular Plural
Nominative can canlar
Definite accusative canı canları
Dative cana canlara
Locative canda canlarda
Ablative candan canlardan
Genitive canın canların
Possessive forms
Nominative
Singular Plural
1st singular canım canlarım
2nd singular canın canların
3rd singular canı canları
1st plural canımız canlarımız
2nd plural canınız canlarınız
3rd plural canları canları
Definite accusative
Singular Plural
1st singular canımı canlarımı
2nd singular canını canlarını
3rd singular canını canlarını
1st plural canımızı canlarımızı
2nd plural canınızı canlarınızı
3rd plural canlarını canlarını
Dative
Singular Plural
1st singular canıma canlarıma
2nd singular canına canlarına
3rd singular canına canlarına
1st plural canımıza canlarımıza
2nd plural canınıza canlarınıza
3rd plural canlarına canlarına
Locative
Singular Plural
1st singular canımda canlarımda
2nd singular canında canlarında
3rd singular canında canlarında
1st plural canımızda canlarımızda
2nd plural canınızda canlarınızda
3rd plural canlarında canlarında
Ablative
Singular Plural
1st singular canımdan canlarımdan
2nd singular canından canlarından
3rd singular canından canlarından
1st plural canımızdan canlarımızdan
2nd plural canınızdan canlarınızdan
3rd plural canlarından canlarından
Genitive
Singular Plural
1st singular canımın canlarımın
2nd singular canının canlarının
3rd singular canının canlarının
1st plural canımızın canlarımızın
2nd plural canınızın canlarınızın
3rd plural canlarının canlarının

See also

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Venetan

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Etymology

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From Latin canis, canem.

 
Venetan Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia vec

Pronunciation

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Noun

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can m (plural cani)

  1. (Belluno, Chipilo) dog

Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Sino-Vietnamese word from 肝.

Noun

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can

  1. (alternative medicine) liver
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Sino-Vietnamese word from 干.

Noun

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can

  1. Short for Thiên Can (“celestial stem”).
Derived terms
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Verb

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can

  1. to concern; to apply to
  2. to be involved (in); to be implicated (in)
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 諫 (SV: gián).

Verb

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can

  1. to dissuade (someone from doing something); to intervene

Etymology 4

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From English canne.

Noun

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(classifier cây, cái) can

  1. walking stick

Etymology 5

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Verb

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can

  1. to join; to unite; to sew together

Etymology 6

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From French calque.

Verb

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can

  1. to trace (through translucent paper), to do tracing
Derived terms
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Derived terms

Volapük

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Noun

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can (nominative plural cans)

  1. sales commodity, merchandise, wares

Declension

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declension of can
singular plural
nominative can cans
genitive cana canas
dative cane canes
accusative cani canis
vocative 1 o can! o cans!
predicative 2 canu canus
  • 1 status as a case is disputed
  • 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kand- (“to shine, glow”).

See also Ancient Greek κάνδαρος (kándaros, “charcoal”), Albanian hënë (“moon”), Sanskrit चन्द्र (candrá, “shining”) and Old Armenian խանդ (xand).

Adjective

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can (feminine singular can, plural can, equative canned, comparative cannach, superlative cannaf)

  1. bleached, white

Noun

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can m (plural caniau)

  1. flour
    Synonyms: blawd, fflŵr, paill, peilliaid

Derived terms

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  • cannaid (“bright, refulgent”)
  • cannu (“to bleach, to whiten”)

Etymology 2

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Welsh numbers (edit)
1,000
[a], [b], [c] ←  90 [a], [b], [c], [d] ←  99 100 101  →  200  → 
10[a], [b]
    Cardinal (vigesimal): pum ugain
    Cardinal: cant, (before nouns) can
    Ordinal: canfed
    Ordinal abbreviation: 100fed

From Middle Welsh and Old Welsh cant, from Proto-Brythonic *kant, from Proto-Celtic *kantom (“hundred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm.

Numeral

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can

  1. (cardinal number) Apocopic form of cant (“one hundred”)
Usage notes
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  • This is the form the number cant (“one hundred”) takes when it precedes a noun.

Etymology 3

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From English can.

Noun

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can m (plural caniau)

  1. a can

Mutation

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Mutated forms of can
radical soft nasal aspirate
can gan nghan chan

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

See also

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Further reading

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  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “can”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
  • Definition from the BBC.

Yucatec Maya

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Etymology 1

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Numeral

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can

  1. Obsolete spelling of kan.

Etymology 2

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Noun

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can

  1. Obsolete spelling of kaan.
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