canton /ˈkæntən/noun 9verb 4forms 3 noun9 •A division of a political unit.20 May, 1686, Gilbert Burnet, letter from Nimmengen There is another piece of Holbein's, […] in which, in six several cantons, the several parts of our Saviour's passion are represented. •One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation. •An administrative division within a department in France, often being a subdivision of an arrondissement. •A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. •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. — 1662 •A small community or clan. •(no longer used) A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township. •(no longer used) A song or canto.Write loyal cantons of contemnèd love / And sing them loud even in the dead of night. — 1601 verb4 •To delineate as a separate district. •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 — 1854 •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. — 1854 •To divide into cantons. formscantoned · cantoning · cantons
