▪ I. can, n.1
(kæn)
Forms: 1 canne, (4 cane), 4–7 canne, kan, 5–6 kanne, 6–9 cann, 6– can.
[app. Com. Teut.: OE. canne:—WGer. kanna weak fem. (whence MDu. kanne, Du. kan, OHG. channa, MHG. and Ger. kanne); also ON. kanna (Sw. kanna, Da. kande):—OTeut. type *kannôn-. The word occurs also in med.L. canna, app. from Teutonic. The Germanic origin of the word is questioned; but the form is not derivable from L. cantharus pot, and L. canna ‘reed, pipe’, does not suit the sense. (In OE., only in a glossary, where it might be from L.)]
1. a. A vessel for holding liquids; formerly used of vessels of various materials, shapes, and sizes, including drinking-vessels; now generally restricted to vessels of tin or other metal, mostly larger than a drinking-vessel, and usually cylindrical in form, with a handle over the top.
| a 1000 ælfric Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 122 Crater, uel canna, canne. c 1375 ? Barbour St. Laurentius 361 He brocht a vatir-cane & Laurens hyme baptist þane. 1388 Wyclif John ii. 6 There weren set sixe stonun cannes [1382 pottis]. a 1400 Cov. Myst. 259 (Mätz.) Beryng a kan with watyr. 1485 Inv. in Ripon Ch. Acts 370 Duo kannes de ligno. 1535 Coverdale Hosea iii. 1 They..loue the wyne kannes. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 49 Mery we were as cup and can could holde. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. ii. v. (1616) 27 Two cannes of beere. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 131 The Buckets or Kans to take up thy Water. 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) III. 247 Now what do you say to the Cans of wood? 1731 Bailey Cann, a wooden Pot to drink out of. 1755 Johnson, Can, a cup; generally a cup made of metal, or some other matter than earth. 1800 Wordsw. Pet Lamb xi, I have brought thee in this can Fresh water from the brook. 1803 Scott Bonnie Dundee, Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xlv, The milk-can was standing by itself outside a public-house. 1842 Tennyson Will Waterproof xxii, The truth, that flies the flowing can, Will haunt the vacant cup. |
b. (from its shape) A chimney-pot.
| 1833 Act 3 & 4 Will. IV, xlvi. §103 Chimney cans or pots. 1866 Glasgow Police Act 29 & 30 Vic. cclxxiii. §384 To repair any Chimney Head or Can. |
c. A revolving cylinder open at the top to receive the sliver from a carding-machine. Also attrib. and Comb.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 382 The roving-frame..used..where mule-spinning is carried on..is termed the can roving-frame. 1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. i. 30 In the ‘can-roving frame’,..the cardings coming from two cans, and passing between the pairs of rollers, become elongated and fall into the can. 1853 Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) II. 697 The missing band or sliver was supplied out of a can, being the produce of a single carding-engine working into cans. 1861 [see sliver n.1 2 attrib.]. 1882 Spon's Encycl. Industr. Arts V. 2091 The several drawings are passed into a coiling-can, by which they are loosely twisted into one. 1912 Barker & Priestley Wool Carding 201 A ‘can’ delivery apparatus. Ibid., If the box is a ‘can’ box the sliver passes through a funnel and press rollers into a cylindrical can. Ibid. 228 The slivers are fed into the comb just as if they were fed out of the can-coiler from the carder. |
d. A large, usu. cylindrical, metal container or bin, as in ash-can, garbage can. Chiefly U.S. e. A lavatory, water-closet. U.S. slang.
| 1900 Dialect Notes II. 26 Can, water-closet. 1933 A. Woollcott Let. 22 Feb. (1946) 97 He was always organizing quartets and being fired for practicing in the can during working hours. 1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye x. 90 She kept saying..corny..things, like calling the can the ‘little girls' room’. |
f. to carry (or take) the can (back) [origin of use unkn.; said to be the ‘beer-can’ which one (soldier) carries for all his companions]: to bear the responsibility, take the blame (also see quots.). slang (orig. Services').
| 1929 Bowen Sea Slang 22 A Can, a reprimand. Ibid. 23 To Carry the Can, to be reprimanded (Navy). Ibid. 137 To Take the Can Back, to be reprimanded. 1936 Daily Herald 11 Aug. 8/5 Railwaymen and road transport workers use the phrase, ‘Taking the can back’ for (respectively) being held responsible for a mishap and being imposed upon. 1938 F. D. Sharpe S. of Flying Squad 333 ‘Taking the Can Back’, being left to do the dirty work. 1943 Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 20 Carrying the can back, accepting the blame for your own or another's error. 1957 Times 23 Feb. 7/4 Senior officers who were forced to ‘carry the can’ because of the misdeeds of others. 1959 D. Barton Loving Cup i. 11 Officially you have to take the can. 1959 J. Braine Vodi x. 148 It's always my fault, everything's my fault. I always carry the bloody can back. 1959 Even. Standard 6 July 5/2 He has enough political nous not to wish to carry the can for people like Aneurin Bevan. 1967 Spectator 30 June 763/3 No Department wanted to carry the can for cable-vetting—quite irrespective of security considerations. |
g. The buttocks. slang (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
| 1930 L. Hughes Not without Laughter xx. 229 If you offer a nigger a dime, he'll dance his can off. 1937 C. Prior So I wrote It xxv. 285 At last, the landlady threw me out and kept the few rags of luggage that I still owned. I was flat on my can. 1956 Mademoiselle Sept. 175/1 ‘What have you been doing?’ ‘Sitting on my can.’ ‘A writer I used to know once got sacroiliac trouble from sitting so long. Could that be coming on you?’ 1965 J. McCormick Bravo i. 42 See this room... A primitive bed.., a toilet bowl in the corner with a scratched metal lid that freezes your can when you sit on it, [etc.]. |
† 2. Sc. A measure of capacity. Obs.
| 1809 Edmonstone Zetland Isles I. 163 (Jam.) About three fourths of a can or gallon of oil. |
3. a. A vessel of tinned iron, in which flesh of animals, fish, fruit, etc. are ‘tinned’, or sealed up air-tight for preservation (chiefly in U.S.).
| 1867 A. D. Richardson Beyond Miss. 147 Mitchell..was fined two cans of oysters for contempt. 1874 Harper's Weekly Jrnl. 26 Sept. (Hoppe) Salmon..pickled, Smoked, and put up in cans. 1941 Manch. Guardian Weekly 26 Sept. 206/1 Cans of food are kept in the factory for a period before distribution. Ibid., The can of carrots also contained gases at high pressure. 1968 Gloss. Terms Mechanized & Hand Sheet Metal Work (B.S.I.) 26 Can, lightweight container (usually for processed foods) fabricated from separate components, i.e. bottom, body and lid (or cover). (Usually known as an open-top can.) |
b. A prison. slang (orig. U.S.).
| 1912 D. Lowrie My Life in Prison xi. 125, I was in th' can ag'in, up against it f'r robbery. 1926 J. Black You can't Win xv. 216 Those two..never allowed any of ‘their people’ to languish in the ‘can’ overnight. 1961 20th Cent. Mar. 236 I'll stand by my man Though he's in the can. |
c. in the can: of a cinema film or sequence, completed. colloq. Cf. can v.3 b.
| 1930 C. Beaton Diary in Wand. Years (1961) 193 The scene was ‘in the can’ after twenty-five retakes. 1934 Tit-Bits 31 Mar. 12/2 When a film is completed it is ‘in the can’. 1946 ‘Brahms’ & Simon Trottie True i. vi. 158 John Bunny..was stirring a bucket of whitewash... When this shot was in the can Trottie..was due to come along..and push him into it. 1968 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 17 Nov. 48/4 Godard got the film into the can on schedule. |
d. A protective jacket covering the fuel element in a nuclear reactor (see quot. 1962).
| 1945 H. D. Smyth Devel. Methods of using Atomic Energy for Mil. Purposes 106 Mechanical jackets or cans of thin aluminum were feasible from the nuclear point of view. 1962 Gloss. Terms Nuclear Sci. (B.S.I.) 19 Can, a container used for a fuel element in a reactor to prevent the escape of fission products and possibly corrosion of the fuel, and sometimes to increase the mechanical strength of the fuel rod. |
4. Comb., as can-carrier, can-maker; can-quaffing adj.; can-opener orig. U.S. = tin-opener. See also can-buoy, candock, can-hook.
| 1597 Return fr. Pernass. ii. i. ii. 170 Can-quaffing hucksters. a 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Philaster v. iii, My kind can-carriers. 1623 Reg. St. Mary Bredman, Canterb., Thomas Colle Cannemaker. a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 452/1 Can-opener, a domestic implement for opening cans containing fruit, oysters, and what not. 1936 Economist 4 Apr. 4/2 It is now possible to obtain complete meals in tinned form. The can-opener must surely be regarded as a sign of the times. |
▪ II. can, n.2 Sc.
[f. can v.1 Cf. canny.]
a. Skill, knowledge. b. Power, ability.
| 1768 Ross Helenore 15 (Jam.) Thae auld warld foulks had wondrous cann Of herbs that were baith good for beast and man. Ibid. 134 I'll all Maggie's can and her cantraps defy. |
▪ III. can, v.1 irreg.
(kæn)
(Forms: see below.)
[A defective verb, belonging to the small but interesting group of Teutonic preterite-present verbs (now chiefly used as auxiliaries of tense, mood, or predication), in form characterized by having as their present tense an original preterite, which retains the preterite form but has come to have a present signification, and from which a new weak past tense has subsequently been developed. Cf. dare, etc. OE. cunnan, pres. Ind. can (cǫn), pa. c{uacu}ðe (:—cunðe), is identical with OFris. kunna, kan, kunda (konda), OS. cunnan, can, consta, const, (Du. kunnen, kan, konde), OHG. kunnan, kan, kunda (konda), or kunsta (konsta), (Ger. können, kann, konnte), ON. kunna, kann, kunna (:—kunða), Goth. (and OTeut.) kunnan, kann, kunþa. The OTeut. sense was ‘to know, know how, be mentally or intellectually able’, whence ‘to be able generally, be physically able, have the power, L. posse’. Since the present was formally a preterite, its meaning ‘I know’ must have been derived from that of ‘I have learned, I have attained to knowledge’; the original present stem being *kin-n- or *ken-n-, pre-Teut. *gen-n-: cf. Lith. zina{uacu} I know, Zend ā-zaiñ-ti knowledge, OIr. pret. adgéin he knew. Beside this Teutonic has knæ̂- (ablaut form knô-), WGer. knā-, whence OE. cnáwan to know, OHG. ir-chnâ-an, bi-chnâ-an, to recognize, ûr-chnâ-t recognition (answering to a Goth. *-knêþs fem.). This stem is widely diffused in the Aryan langs.; cf. L., Gr. gnô- in L. gnô-sco, Gr. γι-γνώ-σκω (ἔ-γνω-ν); OSlav. zna-ti to know; OIr. gnáth known. In Skr. the pres. has stem jan-, the preterite jñā, jānā{p}mi, jajña{p}u.
It has been further thought that the root was originally related to the Aryan gen- (with by-forms gnā-, gnō-), to bring forth, produce, Skr. ja{p}nāmi, pret. jajā{p}na, L., Gr. gen-, gi-gn- (see kin, king); but if so, they were already differentiated in Old Aryan, and the nature of the connexion of sense has not been determined.]
Here, as in be, it will be convenient to illustrate the inflexions separately from the senses.
A. Inflexions.
1. pres. ind. a. 1st and 3rd sing. can (kæn, kən, k(ə)n).
Forms: 1–4 cann, con, conn, 1– can, (4–5 conne, canne; also kan, etc.).
| a 1000 Cædmon Poems, Sat. 250 Ic can eow læran. Ibid. 629 Ic eow ne con. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 Nis nan sunne þet he ne con. a 1225 Ancr. R. 206 More vuel þen heo con. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 309 Ic wene I can a red. c 1300 Cursor M. 20358 O me self can [later MSS. con, canne] I na rede. c 1320 Cast. Loue 555 Hose þis forbysene con. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xxxiii, I conne notte say. 1467 Eng. Gilds (1870) 407 The craft that he canne. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. G iij, Sure I can no false knackes. Mod. What can it be? |
b. 2nd sing. canst (kænst).
Forms: 1–4 const, 1– canst, (4–5 konst, kanst, 6 canest, 6–7 cannest), northern 3– can, kan.
| a 1000 Andreas 68 (Gr.) Þu ana canst ealra ᵹehygdo. a 1225 Juliana 66 Greiðe hwet so þu const grimliche biþenchen. a 1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 217 To þe þet const and wult wel don. a 1300 Cursor M. 12121, I can þe ken þat þou ne can. a 1400 Ibid. 824 (Add. MS.) Ynow þou canst fynde. c 1500 in Hazl. E.P.P. 36 Canst thou thy byleve? 1526 Tindale Mark i. 40 Yf thou wilt, thou cannest [1557 Genev., etc., canst] make me clene. 1600 [see B 6]. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. ii. 67 Canst thou bring me to the party? |
c. pl. can.
Forms: 1–2 cunnon (cunne-), 2–5 cunnen, (4–5 kunnen), 3–5 cunne, 4–5 connen, conne, 4–5 south. kunneþ, conneþ, 3– north. con, can, (kan), 5– can.
| Beowulf 162 Men ne cunnon. a 1000 Cædmon's Daniel 141 Ȝe ne cunnon. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 75 Alle ȝe kunnen..ower credo. c 1205 Lay. 7301 Tweien wise men · þe wel cunnen a speche [c 1275 conne of speche]. Ibid. 23059 Ne cunne we demen [c 1275 ne con we telle]. a 1300 Cursor M. 9065 Quat rede can [v.r. con] we. 1340 Ayenb. 249 Þo þet conneþ..onderstonde. a 1340 Hampole Psalter ix. 11 Oþer þat kan þaim noght. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4184 As wel as we kunne. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s Prol. 3 For certes ye konnen [v.r. konne, can]. 1387 Trevisa Higden (1865) II. 169 Þese men..kunneþ wel inow telle. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. xvi. 89 Manye kunnen suche textis bi herte. 1550 Latimer Serm. Stamford ii. 104 All that can it not may learne. 1835 Browning Paracelsus iv. Wks. I. 149 You can see the root of the matter. |
d. negative cannot (ˈkænət); famil. can't (kɑːnt). (Sc. canna). (The earlier mode was to prefix ne.)
| ? a 1400 Cursor M. (add. to Cott.) p. 959. 105 And þou þat he deed fore cannot sorus be. 1451 Paston Lett. 140 I. 186 Other tydyngs as yett can I non tell you. Ibid. 172 I. 229 Whethir it be thus or non I can not say. 15.. Plumpton Corr. 72, I canot get my money. 1706 Col. Records Penn. II. 256 The House cant agree to this. 1741 Richardson Pamela I. 56 If he..as you say can't help it. 1742 Young Nt. Th. i. 89 An angel's arm can't snatch me from the grave; Legions of angels can't confine me there. 1827 Keble Chr. Y. 4 Without Thee I cannot live. Mod. Can't you go? |
2. pa. ind. a. 1st and 3rd sing. could (kʊd).
Forms: α1 c{uacu}ðe, 2–3 cuþe, kuthe, 3–5 cowþe, cowthe, (4 coth), 4–5 couþe, 4–6 couthe, (5 couȝthe), 4 north. cuþ, cuth, 4–6 couth, (also in 4–5 with k-); β4–6 coude, k-, 5–6 coud, 7–8 often cou'd; γ6 coulde, 6– could, (6 coold, 6–7 cold, 6– Sc. culd).
The current spelling is erroneous: l began to be inserted about 1525, app. in mechanical imitation of should and would, where an etymological l had become silent, so that these words now rimed with coud, and might better have been written shoud, woud; cf. northern wad. In the sense know, the earlier form couth was retained longer.
| α c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. ii. §1 Ninus..se cuðe manna ærest dry-cræftas. c 1250 Gen. & Ex., 289 Ne kuðe he noȝt blinne. a 1274 Prisoner's Prayer 1 in Philol. Trans. (1868) 104 Ar ne kuthe ich sorghe non. c 1297 R. Glouc. 29 He was y flowe an hey, & ne cowþe not a-liȝte. a 1300 Cursor M. 21420 (Cott.) Ful wel he cuth [later MS. cutht, couþe]. Ibid. 23945 (Edin.) I wald spek if I cuþe [C.G. cuth, F. couþe]. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 813 As þe wyf couþe. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7444 Wha couth þan telle. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 75 He took fro them all that he couthe. 1519 Mem. Ripon (1882) I. 315 In as convenient hast as I couthe. 1530 Lyndesay Test. Papyngo 875 In Inglande couthe scho get none ordinance. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Jan. 10 Well couth he tune his pipe. 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass 18 Ne any couth his wit so hiely straine. 1652 C. Stapylton Herodian v. 37 So well his leere he Couth [rime South]. |
| β c 1350 Will. Palerne 4378 As he coude. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 31 A Rethor excellent That koude [v.r. coude, couþe, kouþe, couþe] hise colours. a 1400 Octouian 111 (W.) The emperour, couthde no man kythe His ioye. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 554 As he wel couȝthe and ouȝte to do. 1478 John Paston Lett. 812 III. 219 He koud get the good wyll. c 1500 in Hazl. E.P.P. 211 Yet could he neyther pates noster nor ave. c 1532 Ld. Berners Huon clxvi. 654 Al preuely as he coude. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 738 Th'..Entrails cou'd no Fates foretel. 1762 Gentl. Mag. 137 [Will] cou'd his fears impart. |
| γ c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 129 There was none that coude..yet Gouernar dyd as moche as he coulde. 1530 Myrr. Our Ladye (1873) 20 The same Alphonse..coulde nothynge of her language. 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 61, I coold my rulez, coold conster, and pars. 1584 D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 315 [He] cold doo no good. 1588 A. King Canisius' Catech. 114 He culd nocht be præiudiciable to y⊇ kirk. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii 6 He could not rest. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tong. (1865) 20 Of this I cold reckon armies. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 265 He could not consent. 1882 Leslie Keith Alasnam's Lady III. 201 He really couldn't say where. |
b. 2nd sing. couldest, couldst (kʊdst).
Forms: 1 c{uacu}ðest, 4 couthest, coudest, 6– couldest, couldst.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John i. 48 Hwanon cuðest ðu me [Lindisf. wistes ðu vel cuðes ðu]. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 540 Koudestow auȝte wissen vs þe weye. Ibid. viii. 76 Þow couthest me wisse. 1526 Tindale Mark xiv. 37 Couldest not thou watche [so all exc. Rhem. couldst, Wyclif myȝtist not]. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 950 And couldst thou faithful add?.. Faithful to whom? |
c. pl. could (kʊd).
Forms: 1 c{uacu}ðon, 2–3 cuþen, 3–5 couthen, couthe, (4 coþen, 5 coothe), 4–6 couth, 4–5 koude, cowde, 5–6 coude, 6 kowd, colde, 6– could.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Daniel 258 [Hi] dydon swa hie cuðon. c 1175 Cott. Hom. 223 Hi cuðon ȝeiðer god and yfel. a 1300 Cursor M. 12344 Wele þai couthe þaire lorde knaw. c 1340 Ibid. 14716 Þai cowd a-gayn him finde resoun nane. 1350 Will. Palerne 1033 Alle þe surgyens of salerne..ne couþen have ȝour langoures a-legget. c 1400 Rom. Rose 789 Welle koude they the gise. 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle iii. iii. (1483) 51 Ye that more good coothe. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. vi. 28 As othere men miȝten and couthen do. c 1450 Merlin x. 146 Thei cowde heir tydynges. 1475 Bk. Noblesse (1860) 13 They..couthe have no socoure. 1510 Love Bonavent. Mirr. (Pynson) viii. D j, They coude the langage of Ebrewe. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon vii. 16 The ii. brethern kowd not. 1580 Sidney Arcadia 397 Well my pipe they couth. 1646 E. F[isher] Mod. Divinity 237 They could skill to say. Mod. Could you or couldn't you? |
3. pres. subj.: a. sing. can (kæn). Since 16th c. levelled with the ind.
Forms: 1–4 cunne, (3–4 kunne), 4–5 conne, (4 cone, konne).
| a 1000 Satan 702 Ðæt ðu cunne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 280 Hwat turn his fere ne cunne nout. c 1250 Hymn Virg. i. 45 Nis non maiden..þat swo derne louiȝe kunne. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 26 Thow knowest wel..And þow conne resoun. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 50 Though I ne conne but a lite. c 1450 Merlin ii. 40 With that thou conne me no magre. 1528 Roy Sat., All though he canne many a wyle. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 34 List if thou can heare the tread [Qq. canst]. Mod. He will come if he can. |
b. pl. can.
Forms: 1–3 cunnen, 2–3 cunne, 4–6 conne.
| a 1000 Elene 374 Þæt [hi] andsware secᵹan cunnen. 1735 Berkeley Wks. 1871 III. 320 Confute them if you can. |
4. a. pa. subj. sing. could, 2nd sing. could(e)st. (Like the Indicative.)
Forms: 1 c{uacu}ðe, 3–5 couthe, (4 coþe, kouȝde), 4–6 couth, 4–6 coud, coude, 5 cowde, 6– could.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 438 If he cuth [v.r. coude, couth, couþe]. Ibid. 4555 Coud þu [v.r. cuth, cowde; Trin. coudestou] tell me quat it ware. Ibid. 20024 Þof..i cothe. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 382 No leyser to telle all ȝif I kouȝde. c 1440 Gesta Rom. (1878) 361 If thou couthiste peynte. 1508 Fisher Wks. (1876) 172 So yf he coude fynde x good and ryghtwyse personnes. c 1532 Ld. Berners Huon clxvi. 654 To seke yf he coude fynde the damoysell. 1586 J. Ferne Lacyes Nobil. 11, I had rather..my daughter Alice couth karoll a lay so lustilie. 1656 Bp. Hall Occas. Medit. (1851) Oh that thou couldest! 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 705 Were Lovers Judges, or cou'd Hell forgive. Mod. I wish I could help you. |
b. pl. could.
Forms: 1 c{uacu}ðen, 3–4 couthen, coude, 6– could.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1330 Þah we cuðen. a 1300 Havelok 369 Til þat he kouþen speken. 1394 P. Pl. Crede 62 Ȝif þei couþen her crede. 1611 Bible 2 Cor. xi. 1 Would to God ye could bear with me. |
5. inf. can (kæn). Obs. exc. Sc. or dial.
Forms: 1 cunnan, 2–4 cunnen, 3–5 cunne, 4 connen, 4–5 conne, 6– can (in 9 dial.; regular in Sc.) See also con v.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 73 Þet heo sculen..heore bileue cunnen. a 1240 Moral Ode 332 He sceal him cunne sculde wel. a 1300 Finding Cross 216 in Leg. Rood (1871) 93 Þe laws wele better mai he cun. c 1320 Cast. Love 1071 He scholde konnen al þat God con. c 1340 Cursor M. 2570 Na mare saltow ham con rede þen sternes of heyuen. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 1404 Cryseyde shal not conne knowe me. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 245 To cunne no more þan is nede to cunne but to cunne to subrenesse. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 158 To conne arede. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 55 Wold I ken, And kun him thank. 1484 Caxton Curial 5 He shal neuer conne trotte. 1555 Eden Decades W. Ind. (Arb.) 52 To wyl to doo hurte & can not. 1607–12 Bacon Gt. Place, Ess. (Arb.) 282 In evill, the best condicion is not to will, the second not to can. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxvi, ‘He'll no can haud down his head to sneeze, for fear o' seeing his shoon.’ 1847 F. A. Kemble (Mrs. Butler) Rec. Later Life (1882) III. 165 Lady Macbeth, which I never could, and cannot, and never shall can act. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped 298 ‘Ye'll can name your business.’ |
† 6. pres. pple. cunning (in OE. cunnand), now only as adj., q.v. Obs.
† 7. pa. pple. could: in OE. c{uacu}þ, ME. couth, chiefly as adj.: see couth. As pple. conne (= cun, on model of str. vbs.) occurs anomalously, and in mod. dialects could is commonly so used. used to could, a common phrase in certain dialects of England and in the United States for: used to be able to.
| 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle i. ii. (1859) 3 Yf thou haddest ony good conne. a 1888 Mod. Sc. He has not could come. If I had could find it. 1823–1940 dialectal examples in Wentworth Amer. Dial. Dict. (1944). |
| 1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie II. xvi. 257 A small and trifling matter is it, to what I used-to-could offer in the way of bargains. 1848 Bartlett Dict. Amer. 372 Used to could, a vulgarism used in the Southern States for could formerly. 1848 A. B. Evans Leicestersh. Words. 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 646. 1892 in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Can, Ah can't walk five mile i' t' hahr nah, but ah used to could! 1899– in Ibid. Suppl. s.v. Use. 1940 Sat. Even. Post 6 Jan. 15/2 She used to could smell that old goat of yours from here to yonder. |
8. vbl. n. cunning, q.v. As a gerund canning has been used for the nonce, and is in mod.Sc.
| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) II. 419 In canning the text of the whole New Testament..without book. |
B. Signification.
I. As an independent verb.
† 1. trans. To know. a. To know or be acquainted with (a person). b. To know or have learned (a thing); to have practical knowledge of (a language, art, etc.). to can by heart: to know by heart. to can one's good: to know what is good for one. Obs.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxv. 12 Ne can ic eow. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 29 Cune sume meðe þenne þu almesse makest. c 1297 R. Glouc. 443 Of Engelond ne con ych non rede. a 1300 Cursor M. 13142 Sco sa well her mister cuth. a 1340 Hampole Psalter Comm. 22 Þe lord þat all þing can. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 18, I can a noble tale for the noones. 1387 Trevisa Higden Rolls Ser. III. 281, I can nouȝt but þat I can nouȝt. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1251 For sleght þat he couth. 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 35 Now they lerne no frenssh ne can none. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 561 Can you a remedy for the tysyke? 1538 Coverdale N.T. Ded., To..instruct such as can but English. 1541 Paynel Catiline l. 74 He coulde it by hart. 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 363 An honest manne and one that could his good. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) II. 325 Unlearned men that can no letters. 1591 Harington Orl. Fur. lxxxv. xxiii, It had bin well that he it never coud. 1600 Fairfax Tasso x. iv. 180 The way right well he could. 1602 Carew Cornwall 56 a, Most of the Inhabitants can no word of Cornish. 1632 B. Jonson Magn. Lady i. i, She could the Bible in the holy tongue. 1649 Lovelace Poems (1659) 120 Yet can I Musick too; but such As is beyond all Voice or Touch. |
c. In phrase to can (some, no, small, good, etc.) skill of or in: to have skill in, be skilled in.
| c 1518 Pace in Ellis Orig. Lett. iii. I. 186 They couth goodde skele in byldyngs. 1532 G. Hervet Xenophon's Househ. (1768) 52 A carpenter..that can good skylle therof. 1538 Leland Itin. II. 56 One Thomas Long..could skille of the Law. 1578 T. Proctor Gorg. Gallery, Talke thou of that, wherin some skill thou can. 1613 Chapman B. D'Ambois' Rev. Plays 1873 II. 180 Since I could skill of man. 1644 Bulwer Chiron. 19 One that could well skill in Manuall Rhetorique. 1710 Philips Pastorals iv. 23 No Skill of Musick can I, simple Swain. |
2. intr. To have knowledge, to know of; also to know much or little of. arch.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 560 Bute thu canst of chateringe. a 1300 Cursor M. 740 Þat mast kan bath on crok and craft. Ibid. 7408 (Gött.) He coude of harpe mekil bi rote. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2529 A mad priste, That neuer colde of no knighthode, but in a kirke chyde. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xvii, The king couthe of venery. 1602 Rowlands Greene's Ghost (1860) 70, I neuer was there (that I can of). 1825 Scott Talism. (1854) 407 Thou canst well of wood-craft. a 1875 Kingsley Poems, Little Baltung 82 That cunning Kaiser was a scholar wise, And could of gramarye. |
II. With infinitive, as auxiliary of predication.
(Many manuals of English Grammar have ineptly treated can so construed, as an auxiliary of the Subjunctive or ‘Potential’ mood!)
3. To know how (to do anything); to have learned, to be intellectually able.
| a 1154 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137 Suilc & mare þanne we cunnen sæin. a 1300 Cursor M. 14692 Your aun bok yee can noght spell. c 1400 Rom. Rose 176 Wel coude he peynte, I undirtake, That such ymage coude make. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. (1868) 64 On al the maners that ye shal conne demaunde. 1490 ― How to Die 2 To conne deye is to haue in all tymes his herte redy. a 1520 Myrr. Our Ladye 148 Dyscrecion to canne kepe peace . on all partyes. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Jan. 10 Well couth hee tune his pipe. 1726 Gay Fables ii. vi. 48 We country-folks Cou'd ope our gracious monarch's eyes. |
This passes imperceptibly into the current sense:
4. a. To be able; to have the power, ability or capacity. (Said of physical as well as mental, and of natural as well as acquired ability; = L. posse, F. pouvoir.)
| a 1300 Havelok 111 So yung þat sho ne couþe Gon on fote. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 431 Sum off thaim couth swome full weill. 1475 Bk. Noblesse 76 To can renne withe speer. 1526 Tindale Mark xiv. 37 Coudest not thou watche with me one hour? 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 6 Thou canest not with one view peruse the wide compasse of it. 1611 Bible Ex. vii. 21 The Egyptians could not drink of the water. 1650 T. B. Worcester's Apoph. 22, I..cold not come to the speech of any of them. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 117 This Empyreal substance cannot fail. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 642 What Madness cou'd provoke A Mortal Man t' invade a sleeping God? 1709 Steele Tatler No. 11 ¶3 The whole Company..take Hands; then, at a certain sharp Note, they move round, and kick as kick can. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 2 [She] could not consume any considerable portion of the receipts herself. Mod. What weight can you carry? Who can run farthest? The house can hold no more. Such language can do no good to the cause. |
b. In this and the prec. sense it occurs, used for the nonce, as a main verb, with infinitive.
[Cf. quots. 1555–1607 in A 5.]
| 1566 Drant Horace's Sat. i. iii. B vij, The wyse can rule; to can is full as muche As though he did. 1633 P. Fletcher Pisc. Ecl. vi. xxvi, If from this love thy will thou canst unbind, To will is here to can. [1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. (1872) III. iii. iv. 118 What a Man kens he cans.] |
5. Expressing a possible contingency; = May possibly.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2872 Ic am sonder man, Egipte folc me knowen can [= may possibly know me]. 1609 Bible (Douay) Numb. xxxii. 17 Whatsoever we can have, shal be in walled cities. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 138 Dost think My mother can be living? |
6. a. Expressing possibility: To be permitted or enabled by the conditions of the case; can you..? = is it possible for you to..?
| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 299 a, Thou cannest not haue of Phocion a frende & a flaterer bothe to gether. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 38 And can you blame them? 1600 Heywood Edw. IV, i. ii. iii, Thou cannest bear me witness. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. x. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 195 You can hardly over-water your Strawberry-Beds. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 735 Thy way thou canst not miss. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 45 ¶9 The best Sort of Companion that can be. a 1856 Longfellow Vill. Blacksm. iii, You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, With measured beat and slow. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 221 Even if it could be believed that the court was sincere. |
b. To be allowed to, to be given permission to; = may v.1 4 a. colloq.
| 1879 Tennyson Falcon 12 Can I speak with the Count? 1894 T. B. Reed Dog with Bad Name xv. 156 Father says you can come. 1905 Ch. Times 3 Feb. 136/3 No one can play the organ during service time without the consent of the Vicar. |
7. In pa. subj., expressing an inclination in a conditional form. (= Ger. könnte.)
| 1658–9 Col. White in Burton Diary (1828) IV. 39, I could like well that they should be in that House. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 121 ¶8, I could wish our Royal Society would compile a Body of Natural History. 1786 E. Inchbald Such things are in Brit. Theat. (1808) 14, I cou'd not think of leaving you so soon. |
8. ellipt., with verb to be supplied from the context, or with do, make, come, get, etc., understood. can or cannot away with: see away 16. cannot but: see but 7 c.
| c 1440 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) i. lxxii, I can wyth plente and I can wyth pouerte, I maye all in hym that strengthith me. c 1440 Gesta Rom. (1879) 38, I am a seruaunt of yourys in all þat I can and may. c 1500 Mayd Emlyn in Anc. Poet. Tracts (1842) 27 He coude well awaye, With her lusty playe. a 1536 Tindale Pathw. Holy Script. Wks. I. 27 The more tangled art thou therein, and canst nowhere through. 1611 Heywood Gold. Age ii. i. Wks. 1874 III. 19 What cannot womens wits? they wonders can When they intend to blinde the eyes of man. a 1700 Dryden (J.) Mecænas and Agrippa, who can most With Cæsar. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iii. (1841) I. 63, I will do all I can with them. 1718 Pope Iliad xiii. 987 What with this arm I can, prepare to know. 1719 Young Busiris iii. i. (1757) 53 What could your malice more? 1807 Sir R. Wilson in Life (1862) II. viii. 374, I could no more. I was really exhausted. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. II. 394. |
b. Cards. can-ye, can-you: see can-you?.
c. Colloq. phr. can do: it is possible, it is within the power of (the speaker). So no can do.
| 1903 Kipling in Collier's Weekly 3 Oct. 16/3 ‘Four hundred and twenty knots’... ‘Can do,’ said Moorshed. 1923 H. C. Witwer Fighting Blood v. 141 I've tried everything I know to get this gil to fight us and no can do! 1951 ‘E. Crispin’ Long Divorce iii. 29 ‘Can do, sir,’ said Mogridge with watery affability. 1958 L. A. G. Strong Treason in Egg i. 11 ‘No. Sorry, old boy... No can do.’ |
III. Senses now written con.
† 9. To get to know; to learn, study. Obs. In this sense it was also treated as a weak vb. with pa. pple. cand: the variant con was at length established as a separate form, with weak inflexions (cons, conned): see con v.
| 1394 P. Pl. Crede 107 A man þat myȝte me wissen For to conne my crede. 1528 More Dial. Heresyes i. Wks. 111/1 He laboured..to can many textes thereof by harte. 1530 Palsgr. 93 If the lernar can perfitly these two exemples. 1563 Mirr. Mag., Blacksm. xviii. 7 So fare they all that have not vertue cand. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1982/1 They had cand their lesson. |
† 10. to can or con thank(s: to express or offer thanks, to thank: app. originally ‘to acknowledge’ or ‘recognize’ one's gratitude. [ME. thank cunne(n, OE. þonc cunnan, = þonc witan, in OS. thank witan, OHG. thank wiȥan. Cf. also Gr. χάριν εἰδέναι, (L. gratias meminisse), It. saper grado, Pr. saver grat, F. savoir gré, whence also in ME. to cunne gree, maulgre, to express one's satisfaction or displeasure. These phrases were distinctly identified with can, could as late as 1525. But on the other hand, already in ME., the verb was often imagined to be different, and inflected as a weak vb. can or cunn (whence cannes, canned; cunnest, cunnes, cunneth, cunned) and in later times generally con (connest, cons, conned), rarely ken. See con: the examples which follow illustrate its original form as belonging to can.]
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 31 Ne con crist him nenne þonc. a 1300 Cursor M. 14065, I can hir mikel thank. c 1400 Rom. Rose 4400, I drede thou canst me gret maugre. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour xviii. 26 Yef he canne ani good, thanne he wille cunne her moche thanke. 1483 ― Gold. Leg. 364/4 The ladyes..couthe her moche thanke. 1483 Vulgaria abs Terentio 9 b, My maister cowde me grete thanke. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxiv. 294 The good lady..coude hym great thanke. 1533 More Apology xii. Wks. 871/2 No man hath any cause to can him ani thank. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 31 Not onelye I..but many other mo..wyll can you very moche thanke. 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. xii. xiv. 201 The smiths will canne them small thankes for this praier. [1672 ― : see con.] |
¶ The following examples show the tendency to make a separate vb. of it with regular inflexions. Some writers made it into gan, the converse of the change in can v.2
| 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1210/1 Els would Christe haue canned her much more thanke. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 110 b, I allowe hym and gan hym thanke. Ibid. 248 a, Augustus..after gannyng hym thanke, commaunded, etc. 1566 Drant Horace's Sat. i. i. E vij b, And cannes me litle thankes. |
¶ IV. Can, cannot, can be, can do, may for the nonce be used substantively in obvious senses. Also can-doing; can't-doing; can't-eat, can't-work: one who cannot eat, work, etc.
| 1626 Fenner Hidden Manna (1652) 62 Hee hath still, in every action, more Can-does than Wil-does. 1644 Hunton Vindic. Treat. Monarchy vi. 51 Sure, by cannot, he understands fallaciously, as he useth to doe, a morall cannot. 1839 Carlyle Chartism iii. 124 Let a man honour his craftsman, his can-do. Ibid. v. (1858) 25 How can do, if we will well interpret it, unites itself with shall-do among mortals; how strength acts ever as the right-arm of justice. 1842 J. Aiton Cler. Econ. iv. 204 Let me have a first-rate goer, a good ‘can do’,—not that I mean in general to ride fast. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 15 Dec. 1/3 Achievement..is open to fewer persons than can't-doing. Ibid. 2/1 That the art of can't-doing has sprung from (1) the difficulty; (2) the barrenness of can-doing. Ibid., Can't-eat, when applied, say, to lobster, is one thing; can't-eat, when relating to bread, is quite another. 1904 Daily Chron. 24 Feb. 6/5 We have then the ‘Can't Works’. |
¶ See also can-you?.
▪ IV. † can, v.2 (pa. tense) Obs.
Also 4 cun, cunne, 4–5 kan, con, conne.
[In ME. and early mod.Eng. used for gan, pa. tense of ginnan to begin: see gin v. In the early MSS. of Cursor Mundi gan and can constantly interchange, but the evidence shows that can was fully established in northern use early in the 14th c., and its beginnings were evidently in the period before 1300, from which no northern documents survive. It was in its origin a variant of gan, apparently merely phonetic; in later times, when used as a simple auxiliary of tense, its identity with gan tended to be forgotten; it was, from its form and construction, curiously associated with the preceding verb can, and this occasionally led to a forgetfulness of its being a past tense, and to the substitution of couth, coud, could, the pa. tense of that verb. Can prevailed in northern and north midland poets till the 16th c., and in the end of that century it was greatly affected by Spenser and his fellow-archaists and followers. Its main function is now filled by did, though the original gan is still a favourite note of ballad poetry.]
1. A verb in the past tense meaning gan, i.e. began, fell, set, proceeded to. Followed by an infinitive with to, it was much less usual than gan.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13557 Fast þai can [G. gan, F. con T., gon] on him to stare. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. iv, And than how he..In philosophy can him to confort. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 98 And so on ane hys eyne he can [ed. 1648 began] to cast. |
2. It was usually followed by an infinitive without to, and then approached or passed into a simple auxiliary of the past tense = the modern did.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 758 Þe nedder ner-hand hir gun [G. gan, F. con, T. gon] draw. Ibid. 2009 A neu liuelade cun [G. gan, F. con, T. dud] þai bigin. Ibid. 6390 Moyses on þe roche kan stand. Ibid. 6462 Moses..fourti dais can [G. gan, F. con, T. gon] þer-on duell. Ibid. 12129 Ho! all þan cun [F. con, G. T. gan] þai cri. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 330 Sone to paryss can he ga. c 1400 Destr. Troy 11258 Antenor titly con ryse, fferkyt on fote, & to þe fre sayde. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 128 Þis pore mon toke þis bred and..on his way con passe. c 1420 Sir Amadace liii, The king toke Sir Amadace..And to him conne he say. 1513 Douglas æneis i. viii. 116 Thus said Ilioneus, and sa can he seis. c 1570 Thynne Pride & Lowl. (1841) 7 And straightly with his armes he can me fold. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 50 Tho can she weepe [ed. 1679 gan]. Ibid. i. vi. 23 Till to ryper yeares he gan aspire. 1602 Davison Rhapsody (1611) 37 Then gan his Teares so swiftly for to flow..Then blustring sighes to boistrously can blow. |
† b. 16th c. Scotch can do = ‘did’ auxiliary.
| 1513 Douglas æneis vii. vi. 11 As scho fure Doun from the skyis, on fer can do [ed. 1553 gan do] espy. Ibid. viii. vi. 57 He can do [ed. 1553 gan do] schaw the altaire. |
¶ 3. Erroneous forms couth, coud, could: = ‘did’. (See above.)
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 460 The croune, that Ihesu couth ber. c 1450 Henryson Mor. Fab. 27 (Bannat. MS. 1568) On euery side full warely could hee wate. a 1550 Christis Kirke Gr. xvi, The carlis with clubbis coud udir quell. Ibid. xxi, Ane bent a bow, sic sturt coud steir him. |
▪ V. can, v.3
[f. can n.1]
1. a. To put in a can or cans; to preserve by sealing up air-tight in a can; ‘to tin’. See canned, canning.
| 1861 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. IV. 511 Good fruit..is always marketable in large cities..and much will be dried, or canned, for export. 1871 San Francisco Weekly Bulletin 17 Nov. (Hoppe) Full directions for canning fruit. 1884 Harper's Mag. July 297/2 The..facilities for canning beef. |
b. transf. and fig. Esp., to record or preserve on film or as a recording. Cf. can n.1 3 c.
| 1865 Atlantic Monthly XV. 395/1 The copper vessel wherein Solomon had so cunningly ‘canned’ the rebellious Afrit. 1914 Wireless World July 246/1 In their efforts to ‘can’ colloquial expressions the students have issued a manifesto. 1935 Punch 23 Oct. 456/2 Anna Karenina..has been rapidly canned for Greta Garbo. 1936 [see ad-lib v.]. 1940 H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood iv. i. 307 Ten or twelve [discourses] on fundamental ideas which have to be embalmed or canned or potted or whatever you like to call it, upon steel gramophone records. 1958 Times 28 July 9/6 The progress towards ‘canning’ television programmes. |
c. spec. To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective jacket. (Cf. can n.1 3 d).
| 1945 H. D. Smyth Devel. Methods of using Atomic Energy for Mil. Purposes 87 No one..is likely to forget the ‘canning’ problem, i.e., the problem of sealing the uranium slugs in protective metal jackets. 1955 Times 18 Aug. 6/2 Zirconium is used in atomic plants for canning nuclear fuel elements. 1957 Listener 9 May 738/1 There is the metal used to enclose the uranium rods, to ‘can’ them as they say. At Windscale the canning was done with aluminium. |
2. a. To discharge or suspend from a situation; to expel from school or college. U.S. slang.
| 1905 Dialect Notes III. 73 Jim..got canned for two weeks. 1911 H. Quick Yellowstone N. ii. 37 Did you get canned for letting me in? 1914 G. Atherton Perch of Devil ii. 269 They would merely be..canned—I beg pardon, fired. 1937 J. Steinbeck Of Mice & Men 41 Won't ever get canned 'cause his old man's the boss. |
b. To stop, leave off (something); to ‘cut out’. slang (orig. U.S.).
| 1906 H. Green At Actors' Boarding House 187 ‘Now, see here; can that line o' comedy!’ shouted Miss Gray. 1912 A. H. Lewis Apaches N.Y. 20 ‘Can that black-jack guff,’ he retorted. 1920 Wodehouse Coming of Bill i. ix. 99 Can the rough stuff, Colonel. 1934 G. B. Shaw Too True to be Good iii. 79 Can all that stuff, Sergeant. 1953 ‘E. Ferrars’ Murder in Time ix. 78 Carver winced at the noise. ‘Can that bloody row, can't you?’ he grunted. |
▪ VI. can
obs. form of khan1.