canton1
noun
1ˈkantɒnkanˈtɒn A subdivision of a country established for political or administrative purposes: he proposes dividing the country into ethnic cantons...
- Drawn up by another Liberal Democrat leader, Lord David Owen and US envoy Cyrus Vance, the plan envisaged Bosnia being divided up into 10 autonomous provinces or cantons largely along ethnic lines.
- It is divided into two ethnic cantons, separated by the river Ibar.
- One promising arrangement could be a confederation of independently governed areas or cantons, to be established in the territory between the Jordan and the Mediterranean.
1.1A state of the Swiss Confederation.In addition, the cantons and over 3,000 communes have preserved their autonomy and decide numerous issues by popular vote....
- These original communities were called cantons, and today Switzerland's twenty-six provinces are called by the same name.
- The division between cantons held at 11-11 for two hours until Zurich, the largest canton, weighed in on the side of the UN supporters, assuring their victory.
2ˈkant(ə)n Heraldry A square charge smaller than a quarter and positioned in the upper (usually dexter) corner of a shield.All of them included a St George's cross, sometimes overall but mostly in the upper, inner quarter - the canton as it is known in heraldry....
- In both cases, cobalt blue was used to accent certain elements including the bells, the man's shoes, shirt, and hat, and the cantons of the flags.
- The Australian flag of course features the British union flag in the canton, a flag which signifies, intrinsically, the union of the English, Irish and Scottish nations.
Derivatives
cantonal
/ /kanˈtɒn(ə)l / adjective ...- Following the Roman conquest the settlement was made into the cantonal capital of the region and was enclosed within a series of perimeter walls defining an irregular octagon in plan.
- The Swiss are involved in political decision-making throughout the year on the local, cantonal, and federal level.
- Radicals wanted to abolish cantonal sovereignty, which served only to shore up the local oligarchies, and to move towards a democratic, unitary republic like the Helvetic Republic imposed by the French in 1798.
Origin
Early 16th century: from Old French, literally 'corner', from Provençal, based on a Romance word related to medieval Latin cantus (see cant2).
Rhymes
Canton2
/kanˈtɒn/ Another name for Guangzhou.
Rhymes
Canton3
/ˈkant(ə)n
/An industrial city in northeastern Ohio; population 78,362 (est. 2008). The Professional Football Hall of Fame is here.