can

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See also Appendix:Variations of "can"

Contents

English[edit]

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Wikipedia

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English can (first and third person singular of cunnen, connen "to be able, know how") from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European, *ǵn̥néh₃-. Compare Dutch kunnen, Low German könen, German können, Danish kunne. More at canny, cunning.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (stressed)
  • (unstressed)
    • IPA: /kən/, /kn̩/, /kɪn/, X-SAMPA: /k@n/, /kn=/, /kIn/

Verb[edit]

can (third-person singular simple present can, present participle -, simple past could, past participle couth (obsolete except in adjective use))

  1. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to; to be able to.
    She can speak English, French, and German.
    I can play football.
    Can you remember your fifth birthday?
  2. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to.
    You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.
    Can I use your pen?
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To know.
    I can rimes of Robin Hood. — Piers Plowman.
    I can no Latin, quod she. — Piers Plowman.
    Let the priest in surplice white, / That defunctive music can. — Shakespeare.
Usage notes[edit]
  • 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 often contracted to cannot or can't.
  • 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(ʔ)/), in order to differentiate can't from can, pronounce can as IPA: /kɛn/ even when stressed.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
See also[edit]
Translations[edit]
to be able
may
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English canne, from Old English canne (“glass, container, cup, can”), from Proto-Germanic *kannǭ (“can, tankard, mug, cup”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gan-, *gandʰ- (“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[edit]

Noun[edit]

a can (3)

can (plural cans)

  1. A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium.
  2. A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).
  3. A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish.
  4. (US, slang) toilet, bathroom.
  5. (US, slang) buttocks.
  6. (slang) jail or prison.
  7. (slang) headphones.
Synonyms[edit]
  • (cylindrical metal container): tin (British & Australian at least)
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from can
Translations[edit]
a more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids
a container used to carry and dispense water for plants
a tin-plate canister
toilet
buttocks
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb[edit]

can (third-person singular simple present cans, present participle canning, simple past and past participle canned)

  1. To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar.
    They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.
  2. to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).
    He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.
  3. To shut up.
    Can your gob.
  4. (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee.
    The boss canned him for speaking out.
Translations[edit]
to preserve
to discard
to shut up
to fire or dismiss an employee

Statistics[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Afar[edit]

Noun[edit]

can

  1. milk

Azeri[edit]

Other scripts
Cyrillic ҹан‍
Roman can‍
Perso-Arabic ‍جان‍

Etymology[edit]

From Persian جان (jân, “soul, vital spirit, life”), whence also Turkish can and Armenian ջան (ǰan).

Noun[edit]

can definite accusative canı plural canlar

  1. soul, spirit
  2. being, creature, life
  3. body
  4. force, vigour

Declension[edit]

declension of can
singular plural
absolute can canlar
definite accusative canı canları
dative cana canlara
locative canda canlarda
ablative candan canlardan
definite genitive canın canların

Classical Nahuatl[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

cān

  1. Where.

Derived terms[edit]

Galician[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin canis.

Noun[edit]

can m (plural cans)

  1. dog

Related terms[edit]

Interlingua[edit]

Noun[edit]

can (plural canes)

  1. dog
  2. cock, hammer (of a firearm)

Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA: [kan̪ˠ]

Verb[edit]

can (present analytic canann, future analytic canfaidh, verbal noun canadh, past participle canta)

  1. To sing.

Inflection[edit]

First Conjugation (A)
singular plural relative autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present canaim canann tú;
canair†		 canann sé, sí canaimid canann sibh canann siad;
canaid†		 a chanann;
a chanas		 cantar
past chan mé;
chanas		 chan tú;
chanais		 chan sé, sí chanamar;
chan muid		 chan sibh;
chanabhair		 chan siad;
chanadar		 a chan canadh
past habitual chanainn chantá chanadh sé, sí chanaimis;
chanadh muid		 chanadh sibh chanaidís;
chanadh siad		 a chanadh chantaí
future canfaidh mé;
canfad		 canfaidh tú;
canfair†		 canfaidh sé, sí canfaimid;
canfaidh muid		 canfaidh sibh canfaidh siad;
canfaid†		 a chanfaidh;
a chanfas		 canfar
conditional chanfainn chanfá chanfadh sé, sí chanfaimis;
chanfadh muid		 chanfadh sibh chanfaidís;
chanfadh siad		 a chanfadh chanfaí
subjunctive present go gcana mé;
go gcanad†		 go gcana tú;
go gcanair†		 go gcana sé, sí go gcanaimid;
go gcana muid		 go gcana sibh go gcana siad;
go gcanaid†		 — go gcantar
past dá gcanainn dá gcantá dá gcanadh sé, sí dá gcanaimis;
dá gcanadh muid		 dá gcanadh sibh dá gcanaidís;
dá gcanadh siad		 — dá gcantaí
imperative canaim can canadh sé, sí canaimis canaigí;
canaidh†		 canaidís — cantar
verbal noun canadh
past participle canta

† Dialect form

Mutation[edit]

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
can chan gcan
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

can m (plural cani)

  1. (poetic and literary form of cane) dog

Lojban[edit]

Rafsi[edit]

can

  1. rafsi of canre.

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

can

  1. Nonstandard spelling of cān.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of cán.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of cǎn.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of càn.

Usage notes[edit]

  • 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.

Occitan[edit]

Noun[edit]

can m (plural cans)

  1. dog, hound

Old Provençal[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Latin quandō

Conjunction[edit]

can

  1. when

Adverb[edit]

can

  1. (interrogative) when

Scots[edit]

Verb[edit]

can

  1. can
  2. be able to
    He shuid can dae that- He should be able to do that

Scottish Gaelic[edit]

Verb[edit]

can (present participle form cantainn)

  1. say

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin canis (compare Aromanian cãne, Catalan ca, French chien, Italian cane, Portuguese cão), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

can m (plural canes)

  1. dog, hound

Synonyms[edit]

Hypernyms[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Turkish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Persian جان (jân, “soul, vital spirit, life”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

can (definite accusative canı, plural canlar)

  1. soul, life, being
  2. sweetheart

Declension[edit]

declension of can
singular (tekil) plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın) can canlar
definite accusative (belirtme) canı canları
dative (yönelme) cana canlara
locative (bulunma) canda canlarda
ablative (çıkma) candan canlardan
genitive (tamlayan) canın canların
possessive forms of can
nominative singular plural
benim (my) canım canlarım
senin (your) canın canların
onun (his/her/its) canı canları
bizim (our) canımız canlarımız
sizin (your) canınız canlarınız
onların (their) canları canları
accusative singular plural
benim (my) canımı canlarımı
senin (your) canını canlarını
onun (his/her/its) canını canlarını
bizim (our) canımızı canlarımızı
sizin (your) canınızı canlarınızı
onların (their) canlarını canlarını
dative singular plural
benim (my) canıma canlarıma
senin (your) canına canlarına
onun (his/her/its) canına canlarına
bizim (our) canımıza canlarımıza
sizin (your) canınıza canlarınıza
onların (their) canlarına canlarına
locative singular plural
benim (my) canımda canlarımda
senin (your) canında canlarında
onun (his/her/its) canında canlarında
bizim (our) canımızda canlarımızda
sizin (your) canınızda canlarınızda
onların (their) canlarında canlarında
ablative singular plural
benim (my) canımdan canlarımdan
senin (your) canından canlarından
onun (his/her/its) canından canlarından
bizim (our) canımızdan canlarımızdan
sizin (your) canınızdan canlarınızdan
onların (their) canlarından canlarından
genitive singular plural
benim (my) canımın canlarımın
senin (your) canının canlarının
onun (his/her/its) canının canlarının
bizim (our) canımızın canlarımızın
sizin (your) canınızın canlarınızın
onların (their) canlarının canlarının

See also[edit]

Venetian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Venetian Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia vec

can m (plural cani)

  1. dog

Welsh[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

can

  1. bleached, white
  2. hundred

Noun[edit]

can m (plural caniau) 

  1. a can
  2. flour

Mutation[edit]

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
can gan nghan chan

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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