canto

See also: Canto, cantó, and cantò

English

Etymology

From Italian canto (“song”). Doublet of chant.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæntəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæntoʊ/
• Rhymes: -æntəʊ

Noun

canto (plural cantos)

2. One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book.
4. (music) The treble or leading melody.
6. (music) The designated division of a song.

Derived terms

• canto fermo

Translations

one of the chief divisions of a long poem

• German: Gesang (de) m, Canto m
• Hungarian: ének (hu)
• Latvian: dziedājums m
• Macedonian: пеење n (peenje)
• Polish: pieśń (pl) f
• Romanian: cânt (ro) n
• Russian: песнь (ru) f (pesnʹ)
• Swedish: sång (sv) c

Anagrams

• Acton, Caton, act on, acton, octan

Asturian

Verb

canto

1. first-person singular present indicative of cantar

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈkan.tu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈkan.to]

Verb

canto

1. first-person singular present indicative of cantar

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkanto̝/

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese canto, from Latin cantus.

Noun

canto m (uncountable)

1. singing
2. hymn, song

Verb

canto

1. first-person singular present indicative of cantar

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese canto (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria); from a pre-Roman substrate of Iberia and having a probable Celtic origin.

Noun

canto m (plural cantos)

1. middle or small sized stone

   Synonym: callao

   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 605:

     [Et] poserõ perlos muros beesteyros et arque[yro]s muytos et outros, pera deytar quantos et paos agudos metudos en ferros, en guisa que os que se quisesem chegar ao muro nõ podesem escapar de morte

     And they arranged many crossbowmen and bowmen on the walls, an others to throw stones and sharp sticks inserted in irons, so as the ones who wanted to come near the wall could not escape death

Derived terms

• canteira (“quarry”)
• canteiro (“stonemason”)

 

Etymology 3

Documented already in Latin as canthus (“metal tire”), voice that was interpreted as Hispanic or African by Quintilian; in that case, from a hypothetical Proto-Celtic *kantos (compare Welsh cant (“rim”)). Otherwise Latin canthus could perhaps come from Ancient Greek κανθός (kanthós, “corner of the eye”).

Noun

canto m (plural cantos)

1. rim of a round object

   Synonym: bordo

2. extreme of a place or of a field
3. very small field
4. corner

   Synonym: recanto

Pronoun

canto m (feminine singular canta, masculine plural cantos, feminine plural cantas)

1. (interrogative) how much

   E sabedes canto tempo tardaron na elecsón?

   And do you know how long they took in the election?

Derived terms

• cantil (“cliff”)
• Canto
• cantón (“extreme”)
• recanto (“corner”)

 

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “canto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “canto”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “canto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “canto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “canto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Interlingua

Noun

canto (plural cantos)

1. song

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin cantus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkan.to/
• Rhymes: -anto
• Hyphenation: càn‧to

Noun

canto m (plural canti)

1. song
2. singing

Related terms

• cantare
• canto del cigno
• canto piano
• cantore
• cantoria
• canzone

 

Descendants

• English: bel canto

Etymology 2

From Latin canthus, from Ancient Greek κανθός (kanthós), meaning corner, specifically the corner of the eye. Or from a Vulgar Latin *cantus, a word of Mediterranean origin akin to the aforementioned Greek term

Noun

canto m (plural canti)

1. corner
2. side

Related terms

• cantonale
• cantone
• cantoniera
• cantuccio
• d'altro canto

 

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

canto

1. first-person singular present indicative of cantare

Anagrams

• Caton, conta

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.toː/, [ˈkän̪t̪oː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkan.to/, [ˈkän̪t̪o]

Etymology 1

From canō (“sing”) +‎ -tō (frequentative suffix). See cantus.

Verb

cantō (present infinitive cantāre, perfect active cantāvī, supine cantātum); first conjugation

1. to sing (all senses)
2. to enchant, or call forth by charms, chant

Usage notes

The sense of cantō essentially coincides with that of canō with the additional possible sense of the practice of charms or enchantments.

Conjugation

Conjugation of cantō (first conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	cantō	cantās	cantat	cantāmus	cantātis	cantant
	imperfect	cantābam	cantābās	cantābat	cantābāmus	cantābātis	cantābant
	future	cantābō	cantābis	cantābit	cantābimus	cantābitis	cantābunt
	perfect	cantāvī	cantāvistī	cantāvit	cantāvimus	cantāvistis	cantāvērunt, cantāvēre
	pluperfect	cantāveram	cantāverās	cantāverat	cantāverāmus	cantāverātis	cantāverant
	future perfect	cantāverō	cantāveris	cantāverit	cantāverimus	cantāveritis	cantāverint
passive	present	cantor	cantāris, cantāre	cantātur	cantāmur	cantāminī	cantantur
	imperfect	cantābar	cantābāris, cantābāre	cantābātur	cantābāmur	cantābāminī	cantābantur
	future	cantābor	cantāberis, cantābere	cantābitur	cantābimur	cantābiminī	cantābuntur
	perfect	cantātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	cantātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	cantātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	cantem	cantēs	cantet	cantēmus	cantētis	cantent
	imperfect	cantārem	cantārēs	cantāret	cantārēmus	cantārētis	cantārent
	perfect	cantāverim	cantāverīs	cantāverit	cantāverīmus	cantāverītis	cantāverint
	pluperfect	cantāvissem	cantāvissēs	cantāvisset	cantāvissēmus	cantāvissētis	cantāvissent
passive	present	canter	cantēris, cantēre	cantētur	cantēmur	cantēminī	cantentur
	imperfect	cantārer	cantārēris, cantārēre	cantārētur	cantārēmur	cantārēminī	cantārentur
	perfect	cantātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	cantātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	cantā	—	—	cantāte	—
	future	—	cantātō	cantātō	—	cantātōte	cantantō
passive	present	—	cantāre	—	—	cantāminī	—
	future	—	cantātor	cantātor	—	—	cantantor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		cantāre	cantāvisse	cantātūrum esse	cantārī	cantātum esse	cantātum īrī
participles		cantāns	—	cantātūrus	—	cantātus	cantandus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		cantandī	cantandō	cantandum	cantandō	cantātum	cantātū

Derived terms

• cantāmen
• cantillō
• cantitō
• discantō
• incantō
• prōcantātor

 

Related terms

• canticum
• cantiō
• cantor
• cantrīx
• cantus

 

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: cãntu
  • Istro-Romanian: cântå
  • Megleno-Romanian: cǫnt
  • Romanian: cânta
  • → Albanian: këndoj
• Dalmatian:
  • cantur, cantuor, kantur
• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican: cantà
    • Gallurese: cantà
  • Italian: cantare
  • Neapolitan: cantare
  • Sicilian: cantari
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: cantare, cantai (Campidanese)
• North Italian:
  • Friulian: cjantâ, čhantâ (alternative spelling)
  • Ladin: cianter, ciantà, cianté
  • Piedmontese: canté
  • Romansch: chantar, cantar (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran), chanter (Puter)
  • Venetan: cantar
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: cantar
  • Franco-Provençal: chantar
  • Old French: chanter, canter (see there for further descendants)
  • Old Occitan: cantar, chantar (northern)
    • Occitan: cantar, chantar
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: cantar
  • Asturian: cantar
  • Mirandese: cantar
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: cantar
    • Fala: cantal
    • Galician: cantar
    • Portuguese: cantar (see there for further descendants)
  • Spanish: cantar
• Borrowings:
  • → Esperanto: kanti
    • Ido: kantar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

cantō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of cantus

References

• “canto”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “canto”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• canto in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• canto in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• canto in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian canto, from Latin cantus. Doublet of szanta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkan.tɔ/
• Rhymes: -antɔ
• Syllabification: can‧to

Noun

canto n (indeclinable)

1. (music) canto (the designated division of a song)
2. (music) canto (the treble or leading melody)

Further reading

• canto in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɐ̃.tu/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃tu
• Hyphenation: can‧to

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese canto, from Latin cantus (“song; singing”), perfect passive participle of canō (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *kan- (“to sing”). Cognate of English chant.

Noun

canto m (plural cantos)

1. singing (the act of using the voice to produce musical sounds)

   Synonym: cantoria

2. chant
3. a bird’s song

   Synonym: canção

4. (figurative) any pleasant sound
5. (poetry) canto

Derived terms

• canto coral
• canto de cisne
• canto de estante
• canto de sereia
• canto eclesiástico
• canto firme
• canto gregoriano

 

Related terms

• cantada
• cantar
• cântico
• cantiga
• cantor
• cantoria
• encanto

 

Etymology 2

From Latin canthus or Vulgar Latin *cantus, from Ancient Greek κανθός (kanthós, “corner of the eye”).

Noun

canto m (plural cantos)

1. corner (space in the angle between converging lines or surfaces)

   Synonyms: ângulo, esquina, quina

   Os quatro cantos do mundo ― The four corners of the world

2. a remote location

   Synonyms: recanto, retiro

3. an undetermined or unknown location
4. (sports) the corner of the goal line and touchline
   1. (soccer) corner (a corner kick)

      Synonym: pontapé de canto

6. (architecture) type of stone used in the corners of a building

Derived terms

• por todo canto

Related terms

• canteiro

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

canto

1. first-person singular present indicative of cantar

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian canto.

Noun

canto n (uncountable)

1. canto

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	canto	cantoul
genitive-dative	canto	cantoului
vocative	cantoule

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkanto/ [ˈkãn̪.t̪o]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -anto
• Syllabification: can‧to

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin cantus.

Noun

canto m (plural cantos)

1. singing
2. song
3. chant

Hyponyms

• canto a lo poeta
• canto de cuna
• canto fúnebre
• canto gregoriano

 

Derived terms

• canto de sirena
• canto del cisne
• canto tirolés

 

Related terms

• canción
• cantar
• cántico

 

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin canthus (“metal rim of a wheel”), from Ancient Greek κανθός (kanthós), or from a Vulgar Latin cantus, of ultimately the same origin, or less likely Celtic origin, from Gaulish *cantos, from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ndʰ-.

Noun

canto m (plural cantos)

1. edge
2. (Philippines) corner, especially the intersection of two streets
3. side
4. (rare) thickness
5. a piece of stone
6. (anatomy) canthus

Derived terms

edge; side

• cantear
• cantil
• cantón
• darse con un canto en los dientes
• de cal y canto
• de canto
• faltar el canto de un duro

 

stone

• a cal y canto
• cantear
• cantera
• canto pelado
• canto rodado

 

Descendants

• → Cebuano: kanto
• → Tagalog: kanto

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

canto

1. first-person singular present indicative of cantar

Further reading

• “canto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28