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Definitions for: Can
[n] airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.
[n] a room equipped with toilet facilities
[n] a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination
[n] the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
[n] a buoy with a round bottom and conical top
[n] the quantity contained in a can
[v] preserve in a can or tin; "tinned foods are not very tasty"
[v] terminate the employment of; "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company terminated 25% of its workers"
[v] be able to, have the ability to
[v] expresses permission; "You may leave now"; "Can I have another piece of cake?"
[v] get to or be allowed to do something; "May I go to the movies tonight?"; "Can I have some ice cream?"; "We got to play video games all day long"
Webster (1913) Definition: Can,
an obs. form of began, imp. & p. p. of Begin, sometimes
used in old poetry.
Note: [See Gan.]
With gentle words he can faile gree. --Spenser.
Can, n. [OE. & AS. canne; akin to D. Kan, G. Kanne, OHG.
channa, Sw. Kanna, Dan. kande.]
1. A drinking cup; a vessel for holding liquids. --[Shak. ]
Fill the cup and fill can, Have a rouse before the
morn. --Tennyson.
2. A vessel or case of tinned iron or of sheet metal, of
various forms, but usually cylindrical; as, a can of
tomatoes; an oil can; a milk can.
Note: A can may be a cylinder open at the top, as for
receiving the sliver from a carding machine, or with a
removable cover or stopper, as for holding tea, spices,
milk, oysters, etc., or with handle and spout, as for
holding oil, or hermetically sealed, in canning meats,
fruits, etc. The name is also sometimes given to the
small glass or earthenware jar used in canning.
Can, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Canned; p. pr. &vb. n.
Canning.]
To preserve by putting in sealed cans [U. S.] ``Canned
meats'' --W. D. Howells.
Canned goods, a general name for fruit, vegetables, meat,
or fish, preserved in hermetically sealed cans.
Can, v. t. & i.
Note: [The transitive use is obsolete.] [imp. Could.] [OE.
cunnen, cannen (1st sing. pres. I can), to know, know
how, be able, AS. cunnan, 1st sing. pres. ic cann or
can, pl. cunnon, 1st sing. imp. c[=u][eth]e (for
cun[eth]e); p. p. c[=u][eth] (for cun[eth]); akin to
OS. Kunnan, D. Kunnen, OHG. chunnan, G. k["o]nnen,
Icel. kunna, Goth. Kunnan, and E. ken to know. The
present tense I can (AS. ic cann) was originally a
preterit, meaning I have known or Learned, and hence I
know, know how. [root]45. See Ken, Know; cf. Con,
Cunning, Uncouth.]
1. To know; to understand. [Obs.]
I can rimes of Rodin Hood. --Piers
Plowman.
I can no Latin, quod she. --Piers
Plowman.
Let the priest in surplice white, That defunctive
music can. --Shak.
2. To be able to do; to have power or influence. [Obs.]
The will of Him who all things can. --Milton.
For what, alas, can these my single arms? --Shak.
M[ae]c[ae]nas and Agrippa, who can most with
C[ae]sar. --Beau. & Fl.
3. To be able; -- followed by an infinitive without to; as, I
can go, but do not wish to.
Syn: Can but, Can not but. It is an error to use the
former of these phrases where the sens requires the
latter. If we say, ``I can but perish if I go,'' ``But''
means only, and denotes that this is all or the worst
that can happen. When the apostle Peter said. ``We can
not but speak of the things which we have seen and
heard.'' he referred to a moral constraint or necessety
which rested upon him and his associates; and the
meaning was, We cannot help speaking, We cannot refrain
from speaking. This idea of a moral necessity or
constraint is of frequent occurrence, and is also
expressed in the phrase, ``I can not help it.'' Thus we
say. ``I can not but hope,'' ``I can not but believe,''
``I can not but think,'' ``I can not but remark,'' etc.,
in cases in which it would be an error to use the phrase
can but.
Yet he could not but acknowledge to himself that
there was something calculated to impress awe, . .
. in the sudden appearances and vanishings . . .
of the masque --De Quincey.
Tom felt that this was a rebuff for him, and could
not but understand it as a left-handed hit at his
employer. --Dickens.
Synonyms: arse, ass, backside, bathroom, behind, bottom, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, can buoy, canful, derriere, dismiss, fanny, fire, force out, fundament, get, give notice, give the axe, hind end, hindquarters, john, keister, lav, lavatory, may, might, nates, posterior, prat, privy, put up, rear, rear end, rump, sack, seat, send away, stern, tail, tail end, terminate, tin, tin, tin can, toilet, tooshie, tush
Antonyms: employ, engage, hire, may not, must not
See Also: bath, beer can, body, body part, buoy, caddy, can, cannikin, clean out, closet, coffee can, comfort station, commode, container, containerful, convenience, crapper, drop, flush toilet, flushless toilet, furlough, head, keep, lay off, loo, milk can, oilcan, pension off, plumbing fixture, pot, potty, potty chair, potty seat, preserve, public convenience, public lavatory, public toilet, remove, restroom, retire, room, send packing, soda can, squeeze out, stool, tea caddy, throne, toilet bowl, toilet facility, toilet seat, torso, trunk, W.C., wash room, washroom, water closet
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