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Origin and history of canton

canton(n.)

1530s, "corner, angle," from French canton "angle, corner (of a room); piece, portion of a country" (13c.), from Italian (Lombard dialect) cantone "region," especially in the mountains, augmentative of Latin canto "section of a country," literally "corner" (see cant (n.2)).

From 1570s as a term in heraldry and flag descriptions. From c. 1600 as "a subdivision of a country;" applied to the sovereign states of the Swiss republic from 1610s.

Canton

18c., the former English transliteration of the name of the major port city in southern China and the region around it, properly the name of the region, now known in English as Guangdong (formerly also transliterated as Quang-tung, Kwangtung), from guang "wide, large, vast" + dong "east." The city name itself is now transliterated as Guangzhou (guang, from the province name, + zhou "region"). One of the first Chinese cities open to Westerners; the older form of the name is from the British-run, Hong Kong-based Chinese postal system.

canton(v.)

1590s, "divide into districts," from canton (n.). Related: Cantoned.

also from 1590s

Entries linking to canton

cant(n.2)

"slope, slant," late 14c., first in Scottish writing and apparently meaning "edge, brink," a word of uncertain origin. "[W]ords identical in form and corresponding in sense are found in many languages, Teutonic, Slavonic, Romanic, Celtic" [OED, 1989]. It was rare in English before c. 1600. The meaning "slope, slanting or tilting position" is from 1847.

Perhaps it comes via Old North French cant "corner" (itself perhaps via Middle Low German kante or Middle Dutch kant), from Vulgar Latin *canthus, from Latin cantus "iron tire of a wheel," which is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "rim of wheel, edge, brim" (compare Welsh cant "bordering of a circle, tire, edge," Breton cant "circle"). The ultimate connections of these are uncertain. Greek kanthos "corner of the eye," and Russian kutu "corner" sometimes are suggested, but there are difficulties (see Beekes).

Cantonese(n.)

1816 (n.), "native or inhabitant of Canton;" 1840 (adj.) "of or pertaining to Canton;" from Canton (q.v.) + -ese.

cantonment(n.)

1756, "military quarters, part of a town assigned to a particular regiment," from French cantonnement, from cantonner "to divide into cantons" (14c.), from canton "angle, corner" (see canton). The meaning "action of quartering troops" is from 1757.

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    Trends of canton

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    quarter
    c. 1300, "one-fourth of anything; one of four equal parts or divisions into which anything is or may be divided;" often in reference to the four parts into which a slaughtered animal is cut, from Old French quartier, cartier (12c.), from Latin quartarius "fourth part," from quart
    billet
    1590s, "to assign quarters to, to direct (a soldier) by note to a lodging place," from a noun meaning "a ticket given by a military officer directing a person to whom it is addressed to provide board and lodging for the soldier carrying it" (1640s). This was a specific use of the
    Boeotian
    inhabitants were characterized as proverbially dull and countrified by their neighbors the Athenians, who thought Boeotia "a canton...hopelessly behind the times, a slow canton, as the nimble Attics would say, a glorious climate for eels, but a bad air for...
    firecracker
    Attested in newspapers from August 1821 listing the cargo of the brig Clarion, arrived at Boston from Canton, which included...
    separate
    early 15c., separaten, transitive, "remove, detach completely; divide (something), sever the connection or association of," from Latin separatus, past participle of separare "to pull apart," from se- "apart" (see secret (n.)) + parare "make ready, prepare" (from PIE root *pere- (
    accommodate
    1530s, "fit one thing to another," from Latin accomodatus "suitable, fit, appropriate to," past participle of accomodare "make fit, make fit for, adapt, fit one thing to another," from ad "to" (see ad-) + commodare "make fit," from commodus ""proper, fit, appropriate, convenient,
    divide
    early 14c., "separate into parts or pieces," from Latin dividere "to force apart, cleave, distribute," from assimilated form of dis- "apart" (see dis-) + -videre "to separate," which, according to de Vaan, is from PIE *(d)uid- "to separate, distinguish" (source also of Sanskrit a
    lodge
    Middle English logge, mid-13c. in surnames and place names; late 13c. as "small building or hut," from Old French loge "arbor, covered walk; hut, cabin, grandstand at a tournament" (12c.), from Frankish *laubja "shelter" (cognate with Old High German louba "porch, gallery," Germa
    split
    1580s, transitive and intransitive, "cleave or rend lengthwise, divide longitudinally," not found in Middle English, probably from a Low German source such as Middle Dutch splitten, from Proto-Germanic *spleitanan (source also of Danish and Frisian splitte, Old Frisian splita, Ge
    chain
    c. 1300, "connected series of links of metal or other material," from Old French chaeine "chain" (12c., Modern French chane), from Latin catena "chain" (source also of Spanish cadena, Italian catena), which is of unknown origin, perhaps from a PIE root *kat- "to twist, twine" (so

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    Dictionary entries near canton
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