different between canton vs district

English

Etymology 1

1530s, from Middle French canton, from Old French canton (“corner”); heraldic sense from the 1570s, geographic sense from c. 1600.

Alternative forms

• kanton

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kæntn?/
• IPA^(key): /?kænt?n/ (especially in the flag sense)

Noun

canton (plural cantons)

2. A division of a political unit.
   • 1912, Joseph McCabe (translator), We Must Take Sides; or, The Principal of Action (originally by Voltaire)

     These three millions live in a small canton of Egypt which cannot maintain twenty thousand people

   • 20 May, 1686, Gilbert Burnet, letter from Nimmengen

   2. One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation.
   3. A subdivision of an arrondissement of France.
   4. A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.
   5. (obsolete) A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township.
3. A small community or clan.
4. A subdivision of a flag, the rectangular inset on the upper hoist (i.e., flagpole) side (e.g., the stars of the US national flag are in a canton).
6. (heraldry) 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.

Translations

Verb

canton (third-person singular simple present cantons, present participle cantoning, simple past and past participle cantoned)

1. (transitive) To delineate as a separate district.
2. (transitive) To divide into cantons.
3. (transitive) To allot quarters to troops.

Etymology 2

Noun

canton (plural cantons)

1. (obsolete) A song or canto.

Anagrams

• Conant, Nacton, cannot, noncat

French

Etymology

From Middle French canton, from Old French canton (from the 1240s), from Old Occitan canton (“corner; canton”) (recorded before 1218), adopted in Occitan from North Italian (Gallo-Italic, early Lombard) cantone (“edge, corner; canton”), ultimately representing Latin cant- (“rim (of a wheel)”) with the addition of the -? (accusative -?nem) suffix forming augmentatives in Romance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.t??/

Noun

canton m (plural cantons)

1. canton (of Switzerland, France or Luxembourg)
2. township (of Canada)
3. (heraldry) canton

Descendants

• ? German: Kanton

Further reading

• “canton” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Occitan

Etymology

From Gallo-Italic cantone. From canto + -one. Related to Latin canthus (“rim (of a wheel)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kan?tu/

Noun

canton m (plural cantons)

1. corner
2. canton

Derived terms

• cantonal
• cantonar
• cantonada

Romanian

Etymology

From French canton.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kan?ton/

Noun

canton n (plural cantoane)

1. canton

Declension

Derived terms

• cantonal

Further reading

• canton in DEX online - Dic?ionare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Venetian

Noun

canton m (plural cantoni)

1. corner

Derived terms

• cantonzsin

English

Etymology

From French district, from Medieval Latin districtus (“a district within which the lord may distrain, also jurisdiction”), from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere (“to draw asunder, compel, distrain”), from dis- (“apart”) +? stringere (“to draw tight, strain”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: d?s?tr?kt, IPA^(key): /?d?st??kt/
• Hyphenation: dis?trict

Noun

district (plural districts)

1. An administrative division of an area.

   the Soho district of London

2. An area or region marked by some distinguishing feature.

   the Lake District in Cumbria

3. (Britain) An administrative division of a county without the status of a borough.

   South Oxfordshire District Council

Derived terms

Related terms

• districtual

Translations

Verb

district (third-person singular simple present districts, present participle districting, simple past and past participle districted)

1. (transitive) To divide into administrative or other districts.

Derived terms

• redistrict

Translations

Adjective

district (comparative more district, superlative most district)

1. (obsolete) rigorous; stringent; harsh
   • 1563, John Foxe, Actes and Monuments

     punishing with the rod of district severity

Further reading

• district in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• district in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• district at OneLook Dictionary Search

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch district, from Middle French district, from Medieval Latin districtus (“a district within which the lord may distrain, also jurisdiction”), from Latin districtus, past participle of distring?, distringere (“draw asunder, compel, distrain”), from dis- (“apart”) + string?, stringere (“draw tight, strain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?s?tr?kt/
• Hyphenation: dis?trict
• Rhymes: -?kt

Noun

district n (plural districten, diminutive districtje n)

1. district

Derived terms

• kiesdistrict

Descendants

• Afrikaans: distrik
• ? Indonesian: distrik

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.t?ikt/, /dis.t?ik/

Noun

district m (plural districts)

1. district

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from French district, from Medieval Latin districtus (“a district within which the lord may distrain, also jurisdiction”), from Latin districtus, past participle of distring?, distringere (“draw asunder, compel, distrain”), from dis- (“apart”) + string?, stringere (“draw tight, strain”).

Noun

district m (plural districts)

1. (Jersey) district

Romanian

Etymology

From French district

Noun

district n (plural districte)

1. district

Declension