canter

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkæn.tə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkæn.tɚ/, [ˈkɛən.tɚ]
• Rhymes: -æntə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

Short for Canterbury pace, from the supposed easy pace of medieval pilgrims to Canterbury.

Noun

canter (plural canters)

1. A gait of a horse between a trot and a gallop, consisting of three beats and a "suspension" phase, where there are no feet on the ground. Also describing this gait on other four-legged animals.
2. A ride on a horse at such speed.

Derived terms

• counter-canter

Translations

gait

• Breton: daoulamm (br) m
• Czech: cval m
• Dutch: galop (nl) m (both canter and gallop), arbeidsgalop m
• Finnish: laukka (fi)
• French: petit galop m
• German: Kanter m, leichter Galopp m
• Norwegian: galopp (no) m
• Ottoman Turkish: اشكین (eşkin)
• Polish: galop (pl) m
• Russian: кентер m (kenter)
• Spanish: medio galope m
• Turkish: eşkin (tr)

ride

• Czech: jízda cvalem
• Finnish: laukka (fi)
• Norwegian: galopp (no) m
• Polish: galop (pl) m

Verb

canter (third-person singular simple present canters, present participle cantering, simple past and past participle cantered)

1. (intransitive) To move at such pace.
2. (transitive) To cause to move at a canter; to ride (a horse) at a canter.

Derived terms

• canterer
• counter-canter
• in a canter, at a canter

Translations

to gait

• Czech: cválat impf
• Finnish: laukata (fi)
• Norwegian: galoppere
• Polish: galopować (pl)

Etymology 2

From cant +‎ -er.

Noun

canter (plural canters)

1. One who cants or whines; a beggar.
2. One who makes hypocritical pretensions to goodness; one who uses canting language.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 11, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     The days when he was a canter and a rebel.

   • 1974, Bill Wannan, With Malice Aforethought, page 85:

     From lawn-sleeved ranters to kerbstone canters, From bishops to Army lasses.

Anagrams

• Cretan, carnet, centra, creant, nectar, recant, tanrec, trance

Latin

Verb

canter

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of cantō

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

canter

1. (nautical) to list
2. (reflexive) to lean

Old French

Verb

canter

1. (northern) Alternative form of chanter
   • c. 1170, Wace, Le Roman de Rou:

     Li Eveske canta la messe

     The bishop performed mass

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ts, *-tt are modified to z, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of canter (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		canter			avoir canté
gerund		en cantant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		cantant
past participle		canté
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	cant	cantes	cante	cantons	cantez	cantent
	imperfect	cantoie, canteie, cantoe, canteve	cantoies, canteies, cantoes, canteves	cantoit, canteit, cantot, canteve	cantiiens, cantiens	cantiiez, cantiez	cantoient, canteient, cantoent, cantevent
	preterite	cantai	cantas	canta	cantames	cantastes	canterent
	future	canterai	canteras	cantera	canterons	canteroiz, cantereiz, canterez	canteront
	conditional	canteroie, cantereie	canteroies, cantereies	canteroit, cantereit	canteriiens, canteriens	canteriiez, canteriez	canteroient, cantereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	cant	canz	cant	cantons	cantez	cantent
	imperfect	cantasse	cantasses	cantast	cantissons, cantissiens	cantissoiz, cantissez, cantissiez	cantassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	cante	—	cantons	cantez	—

Picard

Etymology

From Old French canter, from Latin cantāre.

Verb

canter

1. to sing

   Ej vouroè prinde ed ches lchons por aprinde à canter conme i feut.

   I would like to take some lessons to learn to sing correctly.

Conjugation

    Conjugation in Picard

infinitive			canter
gerund			cantint
auxiliary			avoèr
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		cantè		cantèe
		plural		cantès		cantèes
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		ej (j')	tu (t')	i (il)/ale	(n)os	os	is
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantons	cantez	cantte
	imperfect	cantoé	cantoés	cantoét	cantoinmes	cantoètes	cantoètte
	future	cantrai cantro	cantros	cantro	cantrons	cantrez	cantront
	conditional	cantroé	cantroés	cantroét	cantroinmes	cantroètes	cantroètte
subjunctive		qu'ej (j')	qu'tu (t')	qu'i (il)/ale	qu'(n)os	qu'os	qu'is
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantonche	cantèche	cantte
imperative		—	tu	—	(n)os	os	—
	affirmative		cante		cantons	cantez