different between can vs -able
can
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English can, first and third person singular of connen, cunnen (“to be able, know how”), from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-Germanic *kunnan?, from Proto-Indo-European *?neh?- (whence know). Compare West Frisian kinne, Dutch kunnen, Low German könen, German können, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål kunne, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk kunna, and Afrikaans kan. Doublet of con. See also: canny, cunning.
Alternative forms
- canne (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- (stressed)
- enPR: k?n
- (Received Pronunciation, Ireland) IPA(key): /?kæn/, [?k?an], [?k?æn]
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /?kæn/, [?k?æn], [?k???n], [?k?e?n] (see w:/æ/ raising)
- (Philadelphia) IPA(key): /?k?n/
- Rhymes: -æn
- (unstressed)
- IPA(key): /k?n/, [k??n], [k?n?]
Verb
can (third-person singular simple present can, no present participle, simple past could, past participle (obsolete except in adjectival use) couth)
- (auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to; to be able to.
- Synonym: be able to
- Antonyms: cannot, can't, can’t
- 1449, Reginald Pecock, Represser of over-much weeting [blaming] of the Clergie
- prouyng which eny clerk can or woel or mai make bi eny maner euydence of resoun or of Scripture, and namelich of resoun into the contrarie.
- (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to.
- Synonym: may
- (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; be possible.
- (auxiliary verb, defective) Used with verbs of perception.
- (obsolete, transitive) To know.
- Synonyms: cognize, grok, ken
- ca.1360-1387, William Langland, Piers Plowman
- I can rimes of Robin Hood.
- ca.1360-1387, William Langland, Piers Plowman
- I can no Latin, quod she.
Usage notes
- For missing forms, substitute inflected forms of be able to, as:
- I might be able to go.
- I was able to go yesterday.
- I have been able to go, since I was seven.
- I had been able to go before.
- I will be able to go tomorrow.
- The word could also suffices in many tenses. “I would be able to go” is equivalent to “I could go”, and “I was unable to go” can be rendered “I could not go”. (Unless there is a clear indication otherwise, “could verb” means “would be able to verb”, but “could not verb” means “was/were unable to verb”.)
- The present tense negative can not is usually contracted to cannot (more formal) or can’t (less formal).
- The use of can in asking permission sometimes is criticized as being impolite or incorrect by those who favour the more formal alternative “may I...?”.
- Can is sometimes used rhetorically to issue a command, placing the command in the form of a request. For instance, “Can you hand me that pen?” as a polite substitution for “Hand me that pen.”
- Some US dialects that glottalize the final /t/ in can’t (/kæn(?)/), in order to differentiate can’t from can, pronounce can as /k?n/ even when stressed.
Translations
See also
- Appendix:English modal verbs
- Appendix:English tag questions
Etymology 2
From Middle English canne, from Old English canne (“glass, container, cup, can”), from Proto-Germanic *kann? (“can, tankard, mug, cup”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gan-, *gand?- (“a vessel”). Cognate with Scots can (“can”), West Frisian kanne (“a jug, pitcher”), Dutch kan (“pot, mug”), German Kanne (“can, tankard, mug”), Danish kande (“can, mug, a measure”), Swedish kanna (“can, tankard, mug”), Icelandic kanna (“a can”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: k?n, IPA(key): /?kæn/
- Rhymes: -æn
- (General Australian, Southern England) IPA(key): /?kæ?n/
- Rhymes: -æ?n
- (æ-tensing) IPA(key): [?ke?n]
Noun
can (plural cans)
- A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium, but sometimes of plastic, and with a carrying handle over the top.
- A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).
- A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish.
- (archaic) A chamber pot, now (US, slang) a toilet or lavatory.
- Shit or get off the can.
- Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me.
- (US, slang) Buttocks.
- (slang) Jail or prison.
- Bob's in the can. He won't be back for a few years.
- (slang, in the plural) Headphones.
- (archaic) A drinking cup.
- ?, Alfred Tennyson, Vision of Sin
- Fill the cup and fill the can, / Have a rouse before the morn.
- ?, Alfred Tennyson, Vision of Sin
- (nautical) A cube-shaped buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark
- A chimney pot.
- (slang, in the plural) An E-meter used in Scientology auditing.
- (US, slang) An ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:can.
- 1970, California. Supreme Court, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of California
- […] prosecution for selling and giving away marijuana, the evidence clearly constituted substantial proof that a package purchased by defendant contained marijuana where he requested "four cans" of marijuana to be delivered to himself and […]
- A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor.
Synonyms
- (toilet): See Thesaurus:chamber pot and Thesaurus:toilet
- (place with a toilet): See Thesaurus:bathroom
- (cylindrical metal container): tin (British & Australian at least)
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- kick-the-can
- shitcan
Related terms
Translations
Verb
can (third-person singular simple present cans, present participle canning, simple past and past participle canned)
- To seal in a can.
- To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can.
- To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).
- (transitive, slang) To shut up.
- (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee.
- (golf, slang, transitive) To hole the ball.
- (transitive) To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective cover.
Synonyms
- (discard): bin, dump, scrap; see also Thesaurus:junk
- (shut up): can it, stifle; see also Thesaurus:stop talking or Thesaurus:make silent
- (dismiss an employee): axe, let go, shit-can; see also Thesaurus:lay off
Derived terms
- decan, recan, uncan
- canner, canning
Translations
Anagrams
- ANC, CNA, NAC, NCA
Afar
Etymology
From Proto-Cushitic [Term?]. Cognates include Somali caano and Oromo aannan.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /???n/
Noun
cán m (plural caanowá f)
- milk
Inflection
References
- Loren F. Bliese (1981) A Generative Grammar of Afar?[1], Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington (doctoral thesis).
- Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)?[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)
Aragonese
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
can m (plural cans)
- dog
References
- Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) , “can”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, ?ISBN
Asturian
Etymology
From Latin canis, canem.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka?/
Noun
can m (plural canes)
- dog (animal)
Synonyms
- perru
Azerbaijani
Etymology
From Persian ???? (jân).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [d???n], [d?z?n]
Noun
can (definite accusative can?, plural canlar)
- soul, spirit
- being, creature, life
- body
- force, vigour
Declension
Derived terms
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /?kan/
Contraction
can
- Contraction of ca en (“the house of”).
Further reading
- “can” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Classical Nahuatl
Alternative forms
- c?nin
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka?n/
Pronoun
c?n
- where
Derived terms
- campa
- canah
Related terms
Galician
Alternative forms
- cão (reintegrationist)
- cam (reintegrationist)
Etymology 1
From Old Galician and Old Portuguese can, from Latin canis, canem. Cognate with Portuguese cão.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ka?/
Noun
can m (plural cans)
- dog
- (historical) 20th century 5, 10 cents of peseta coin
Related terms
- cadela
- caíño
- cairo
- can de palleiro
- dente cairo
Etymology 2
From Old Galician and Old Portuguese quan, from Latin quam. Cognate with Portuguese quão and Spanish cuan.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ka?/
Noun
can m (plural cans)
- how
Etymology 3
Ultimately from Turkic *qan, contraction of *qa?an.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ka?/
Noun
can m (plural cans)
- khan
References
- “can” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
- “can” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
- “can” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
- “can” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “can” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
Interlingua
Noun
can (plural canes)
- dog
- cock, hammer (of a firearm)
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish canaid, from Proto-Celtic *kaneti (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh?n-. Compare Welsh canu, Latin can?, Ancient Greek ??????? (kanakhé?), Persian ??????? (xândan).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kan?/
Verb
can (present analytic canann, future analytic canfaidh, verbal noun canadh, past participle canta)
- to sing
Conjugation
Mutation
Istriot
Etymology
From Latin canis.
Noun
can m
- dog
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?kan/
Etymology 1
From Turkic.
Alternative forms
- cane
Noun
can m (invariable)
- Obsolete spelling of khan
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the main entry.
Noun
can m (plural cani)
- (poetic, literary) Apocopic form of cane; dog
Ligurian
Alternative forms
- càn
Etymology
From Latin canem, accusative form of canis, from earlier can?s, from Proto-Italic *k? (accusative *kwanem), from Proto-Indo-European *?w? (accusative *?wónm?).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka?/
Noun
can m (plural chen, diminutive cagnetto or cagnin, feminine cagna)
- dog, male dog
Related terms
- cagnara
Mandarin
Romanization
can
- Nonstandard spelling of c?n.
- Nonstandard spelling of cán.
- Nonstandard spelling of c?n.
- Nonstandard spelling of càn.
Usage notes
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Middle Dutch
Verb
can
- first/third-person singular present indicative of connen
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
can
- Alternative form of canne
Etymology 2
Verb
can
- Alternative form of cunnen
Northern Kurdish
Etymology
Related to Persian ???? (jân).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d????n/
Noun
can ?
- soul
Occitan
Etymology
From Old Occitan [Term?], from Latin canis, canem.
Noun
can m (plural cans, feminine canha, feminine plural canhas)
- dog, hound
Old Occitan
Alternative forms
- quan
Etymology
From Latin quand?.
Conjunction
can
- when
Adverb
can
- (interrogative) when
Descendants
- Catalan: quan
- Occitan: quand
Old Portuguese
Etymology
From Latin canis (“dog”), from Proto-Indo-European *?w? (“dog”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?kã/
Noun
can m
- dog
- 13th century, Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional, Alfonso X of Castile, B 476: Non quer'eu donzela fea (facsimile)
- Non quereu donzela fea / E uelo?a come cam
- I do not want an ugly maiden, as hairy as a dog
- Non quereu donzela fea / E uelo?a come cam
- 13th century, Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional, Alfonso X of Castile, B 476: Non quer'eu donzela fea (facsimile)
Descendants
- Galician: can
- Portuguese: cão
Scots
Etymology
From Middle English can, first and third person singular of connen, cunnen (“to be able, know how”), from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnan?, from Proto-Indo-European *?neh?- (whence know).
Verb
can (third-person singular present can, past cud)
- can
- be able to
Derived terms
- cannae (“cannot”)
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Old Irish canaid (“to sing”), from Proto-Celtic *kaneti (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh?n-. Compare Welsh canu, Latin can?, Ancient Greek ??????? (kanakhé?), Persian ??????? (xândan).
Verb
can (past chan, future canaidh, verbal noun cantainn, past participle cante)
- to say
References
- “can” in Edward Dwelly, Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic–English Dictionary, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, 1911, ?ISBN.
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin canis, canem, from Proto-Italic *k? (accusative *kwanem), from Proto-Indo-European *?w? (accusative *?wónm?). Compare Catalan ca, Occitan can, French chien, Italian cane, Portuguese cão, Romanian câine and Aromanian cãne, cãni.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?kan/, [?kãn]
- Rhymes: -an
Noun
can m (plural canes)
- (formal) dog, hound
- Synonyms: perro, (colloquial) chucho
Hypernyms
- cánido
Hyponyms
- cachorro
Related terms
- canijo
- canino
Further reading
- “can” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
Turkish
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish ????, from Persian ???? (jân, “soul, vital spirit, life”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d?an/
Noun
can (definite accusative can?, plural canlar)
- soul, life, being
- sweetheart
Declension
See also
- Can
Venetian
Etymology
From Latin canis, canem.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka?/
Noun
can m (plural cani)
- dog
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
- (Hà N?i) IPA(key): [ka?n??]
- (Hu?) IPA(key): [ka????]
- (H? Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ka????]
Etymology 1
Sino-Vietnamese word from ?.
Noun
can
- (alternative medicine) liver
Etymology 2
Sino-Vietnamese word from ?.
Noun
can
- Short for Thiên Can (“celestial stem”).
Verb
can
- to concern; to apply to
- to be involved (in); to be implicated (in)
Etymology 3
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese ? (SV: gián).
Verb
can
- to dissuade (someone from doing something); to intervene
Etymology 4
From English canne.
Noun
(classifier cây, cái) can
- walking stick
Etymology 5
Verb
can
- to join; to unite; to sew together
Etymology 6
From French calque.
Verb
can
- to trace (through translucent paper), to do tracing
Derived terms
Volapük
Noun
can (nominative plural cans)
- sales commodity, merchandise, wares
Declension
Welsh
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /kan/
Etymology 1
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kand- (“to shine, glow”).
See also Ancient Greek ???????? (kándaros, “charcoal”), Albanian hënë (“moon”), Sanskrit ?????? (candrá, “shining”) and Old Armenian ???? (xand).
Adjective
can (feminine singular can, plural can, equative canned, comparative cannach, superlative cannaf)
- bleached, white
Noun
can m (plural caniau)
- flour
Derived terms
- cannaid (“bright, refulgent”)
- cannu (“to bleach, to whiten”)
Etymology 2
From Proto-Celtic *kantom (“hundred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *?m?tóm.
Numeral
can
- hundred
Usage notes
This is the form the number cant (“hundred”) takes when it precedes a noun.
Etymology 3
From English can.
Noun
can m (plural caniau)
- a can
Mutation
See also
- cân
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “can”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
- Definition from the BBC.
Yucatec Maya
Etymology 1
Numeral
can
- Obsolete spelling of kan
Etymology 2
Noun
can
- Obsolete spelling of kaan
can From the web:
- what can dogs not eat
- what can you buy with bitcoin
- what can i make with ground beef
- what can guinea pigs eat
- what can cats eat
- what can cause dizziness
- what can hamsters eat
- what can alexa do
-able
English
Alternative forms
- -ible (not productive)
Etymology
- From Middle English -able, borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -?bilis, from -a- or -i- + -bilis (“capable or worthy of being acted upon”), from Proto-Indo-European i-stem form *-d?li- of *-d?lom (“instrumental suffix”).
- Not closely related etymologically, though currently related semantically, to able.
- Displaced native Old English -endl?c.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /?.bl?/
Suffix
-able
- An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning:
- Able to be done; fit to be done.
- movable: able to be moved
- amendable: able to be amended
- breakable: liable to broken
- blamable: fit to be blamed
- salable: fit to be sold
- Relevant to or suitable to, in accordance with.
- fashionable: relevant to fashion
- seasonable: suitable to season
- Giving, or inclined to.
- pleasurable: giving pleasure
- peaceable: inclined to peace
- Subject to.
- reportable: subject to be reported
- taxable: subject to be taxed
- Due to be.
- payable: due to pay
- Able to be done; fit to be done.
Usage notes
- Originally used only on French and Latin words, like separable. Over time -able was added to stems of English verbs ending in -ate, such as educable. Finally, due to probable confusion with the word able, it was used to form adjectives from all sorts of verbs, nouns, and even verb phrases, such as kickable, get-at-able, and hittable.
- While a terminal silent -e is usually dropped when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, which is followed by -able, the -e is not dropped when adding -able if the root ends with a soft -ce and -ge, as in replaceable and changeable, so that these are not misinterpreted as hard ‘c’ or ‘g’ sounds. This same rule is used for -ous, as in courageous.
- As when adding the suffix -ed, a final consonant of a root should be doubled if the preceding vowel is short and (in British English) stressed.
- The form -ible has the same senses and pronunciation. The choice between the two is somewhat idiosyncratic, but in general, -ible is used in forms derived from Latin verbs of the second, third, and fourth conjugations, and in a few words whose roots end in a soft c or g, while -able is used in all other such words, particularly those formed from Latin verbs of the first conjugation and those that come from French or from Anglo-Saxon (Old English). Fowler's English Usage recommends using -ible for simplicity's sake in any word whose root ends in a soft c or g to avoid -eable (e.g., *changible rather than changeable), but this recommendation has generally not been followed.
- A number of adjectives in -able come from verbs that do not have direct objects, but that rather are construed with prepositions. In these cases, the preposition does not appear with the adjective in -able; hence, reliable (“fit to being relied on”), laughable (“suited for laughing at”), remarkable (“fit to be remarked upon”), and so on.
- Traditionally, verbs ending in -ate drop this suffix before adding -able; hence, communicable (“able to be communicated”), eradicable (“possible to eradicate”), implacable (“unable to be placated”), inimitable (“unable to imitate”), and so on, but relatable, because relate is re- + -late, not rel- + -ate. Logically one should therefore say rotable to mean "able to be rotated", but rotatable has become accepted.
- There are cases where a word with un- -able is much more common than one with just -able, such as unbreakable, unsinkable, and untouchable.
Derived terms
Related terms
- able
- ability
- -ability
- -worthy
Translations
Anagrams
- Abel, Bale, Beal, Blea, Ebla, Elba, albe, bael, bale, beal, blea
Catalan
Etymology
From Old Occitan, from Latin -?bilis.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /?-a.bl?/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /?-a.ble/
Suffix
-able (masculine and feminine plural -ables)
- -able
Usage notes
This suffix is used for verbs of the first conjugation, which end in -ar and are the most common. For other verbs, the suffix is -ible.
Derived terms
French
Etymology
From Middle French -able, from Old French -able, from Latin -?bilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /abl/
Suffix
-able (plural -ables)
- -able
Galician
Alternative forms
- -ábel
Etymology
From Latin -?bilis.
Suffix
-able
- -able
Derived terms
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French -able, from Latin -?bilis.
Suffix
-able (plural -ables)
- -able
Descendants
- French: -able
Norwegian Bokmål
Alternative forms
- -abel
- -abelt
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /???bl?/
- Rhymes: -??bl?
- Hyphenation: ab?le
Suffix
-able
- singular definite & plural form of -abel
Anagrams
- bale, bela
Old French
Etymology
From Latin -?bilis.
Suffix
-able (plural -ables)
- worthy of, deserving of
- ?honorer (“to honor”) + ?-able ? ?honnorable (“honorable”)
- -ing, creating an effect, an influence
- ?forsener (“to become insane or enraged”) + ?-able ? ?forsenable (“maddening”)
Descendants
- ? Middle English: -able
- English: -able
- Middle French: -able
- French: -able
Spanish
Etymology
From Old Spanish, from Latin -?bilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?able/, [?a.??le]
Suffix
-able (plural -ables)
- -able
Derived terms
-able From the web:
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