can

can

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Chambri.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Chambri terms

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 *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (whence also know). Doublet of con. See also: canny, cunning.

• canne (obsolete)
• kin (pronunciation spelling)
• c' (pronunciation spelling)

• (stressed) enPR: kănˈ
  • (Received Pronunciation, Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈkæn/, [ˈkʰan], [ˈkʰæn]
  • (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkæn/, [ˈkʰæn], [ˈkʰɛən ~ ˈkʰeən] (see /æ/ raising)
    • (Philadelphia) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛn/
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkæn/, [ˈkʰæn], [ˈkʰɛːn] (see /æ/ raising)
  • (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛn/, [ˈkʰɛˑn]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -æn
• (unstressed) enPR: kən, kn
  • IPA^(key): /kən/, [kʰən], [kʰn̩]

  • Audio (US, unstressed form):

    (file)

• Some US dialects that glottalize the final /t/ in can’t ([kæn(ʔ)]), in order to differentiate can’t from can, pronounce can as /kɛn/ even when stressed.

can (third-person singular simple present can, present participle (by suppletion) able, simple past could, past participle (obsolete) couth)

1. (auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to.

   Antonyms: cannot, can't

   She can speak English, French, and German.

   I can play football.

   • 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.

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     If thou canst awake by four o' the clock, / I prithee call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly.

2. (auxiliary verb, defective) To be able to.

   Synonym: be able to

   Antonyms: cannot, can't

   Can you remember your fifth birthday?

   Animals can experience emotions.

   Can you hear that?

   I can feel the baby moving inside me.

   • 2013 July–August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist:

     Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.

3. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to.

   Synonym: may

   Antonyms: cannot, can't, may not, mayn't

   You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.

   Can I use your pen?

4. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; to be possible for (someone or something) to.

   Antonyms: cannot, can't

   Can it be Friday already?

   Teenagers can really try their parents' patience.

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?

   • 2009, Annette Sym, Simply Too Good to be True, Greenleaf Book Group, →ISBN, page 4:

     Teenagers can be so cruel, and nicknames cut deep.

5. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) Used to form requests, typically polite.

   Can you please come over here?

   Can we try that scene again?

6. (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.

   • 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:

     Let the priest in surplice white, / That defunctive music can.

7. (India, nonstandard, proscribed) To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed). third-person singular simple present indicative of can
   • 2011 November 29, Tai-hoon Kim, Hojjat Adeli, Carlos Ramos, Byeong-Ho Kang, Signal Processing, Image Processing and Pattern Recognition: International Conferences, SIP 2011, Held as Part of the Future Generation Information Technology Conference, FGIT 2011, in Conjunction with GDC 2011, Jeju Island, Korea, December 8-10, 2011. Proceedings, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 114:

     Importance of Identifying Leaf: Identify Plants: If we can able to identify leaf, we can easily able to identify plants.

   • 2018 February 15, Asha Bajpai, Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

     Children in need of care and protection can allowed to be placed in foster care based on the orders of the CWC. The selection of the foster family is based on the family's ability, intent, capacity, and prior experience of taking care […]

   • 2020 May 22, Pardeep Kumar, Vasaki Ponnusamy, Vishal Jain, Industrial Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems: Transforming the Conventional to Digital: Transforming the Conventional to Digital, IGI Global, →ISBN, page 226:

     It can possible to design the ruleset refreshes that allow them to subsequently run at precise interludes and these keep informed.

9. (Manglish, Singlish, auxiliary or intransitive) To be able to or know how to (do something); an accompanying verb is not required if it is already inferable from context.

   Can anot? ― You good? Need help?

11. (Manglish, Singlish, intransitive) To be fine or acceptable; to be possible; (with liao or already) to be enough. Often used in conjunction with a variety of clause-final particles, e.g., lah, meh or one, to express different attitudes towards the subject matter.

    Can liao, don’t need to use so much glue. ― That’s enough glue already.

    • 2015 September 5, Derrick Ho, Chew Hui Min, Lee Min Kok, Shea Driscoll, Nilanjana Sengupta, Melissa Heng, Ong Hwee Hwee, quoting Lee Hsien Loong, “GE2015: 5 things about the third night of rallies on Sept 4”, in The Straits Times:

      We have been doing this for 50 years, we have shown you what we can do. If I say can, means can. […]

    • 2021 August 5, Zat Astha, “The Lessons We’re Still Learning Too Slowly About Mental Health and Suicide”, in ricemedia.co‎^[1], archived from the original on 11 December 2024:

      It’s further exacerbated by well-intentioned but misguided relatives who say, “you’re from School X, can one lah”, or worse, those who associate the very identity of being a student in an elite academy into a label analogous with expectations of high achievements.

    • 2024 June 10, Kimberly Lim, “What’s With Singapore’s Surge in Self-Proclaimed Life Coaches?”, in ricemedia.co‎^[2], archived from the original on 19 September 2024:

      When controversial KOL Sylvia Chan resurfaced in March as a life coach, the general online sentiment was, “Huh, can meh?”

• For a missing form, substitute the appropriate inflected form of be able to, as:
  • I might be able to go.
  • (present perfect) I have been able to go, since I was seven.
  • (past perfect) I had been able to go before.
  • (future) I will be able to go tomorrow.
• For the simple conditional mood or past tense, the auxiliary verb could is commonly used (context usually makes it clear whether conditional or past is intended):
  • (conditional) I could go if it weren't raining is equivalent to I would be able to go if it weren't raining.
  • (past) When I was younger, I could go for miles is equivalent to When I was younger, I was able to go for miles.
• 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 is sometimes criticized as being impolite or incorrect by those who favour the more formal alternative “may I...?”.

• Appendix:English modal verbs
• Appendix:English tag questions

can

1. (Manglish, Singlish) OK, sure; indicates approval or acknowledgment.
2. (Manglish, Singlish, with falling or rising-falling pitch) Used to convey reassurance.

can

1. (Manglish, Singlish, interrogative) OK(?); used at the end of a question when seeking approval or acknowledgment.

   I cut this wire, can? ― I’ll cut this wire, OK?

   • 1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 8, lines 1–3:

     Can you go collect them or not? The shop is at Jalan Sultan. I’m not free, otherwise I’ll do it myself. Can?

   • 2020 June 29, Poh Yong Han, “A Regular Singaporean’s Guide To Each Party’s Vision For The Economy”, in ricemedia.co‎^[3], archived from the original on 23 May 2024:

     It feels like a cheap gimmick to attract environmentalist types, when I don’t see any concrete policies to address that. If you don’t care, then don’t pretend to care leh. If you care, then make sure you got details to back you up, can?

From Middle English canne, from Old English canne (“glass, container, cup, jar”), from Proto-Germanic *kannǭ (“can, tankard, mug, cup”).

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: kăn, IPA^(key): /ˈkæn/
  • Rhymes: -æn
• (General Australian, Southern England) IPA^(key): /ˈkæːn/
• (æ-raising) IPA^(key): [ˈkeən]

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

can (plural cans)

1. A container or vessel, especially for liquids, usually made of metal.

   I keep a can of fuel for emergencies.

   2. A sealed metal container, cylindrical or cuboid in form, typically used to store preserved foods.

      Synonyms: (Australia, Britain, and some Commonwealth nations) tin, bin

      Soup in a can lasts for years.

2. A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).
3. (archaic) A chamber pot.
   1. (US, slang) a toilet or lavatory.

      (toilet): Synonyms: see Thesaurus:chamber pot, Thesaurus:toilet

      (place with a toilet): Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom

      Shit or get off the can.

      Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me.

      • 1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 35:

        I didn't have anything special to do, so I went down to the can and chewed the rag with him while he was shaving.

      • 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure

        If he was going to hide out in the can, he can just stay there & sleep in the tub.

4. (childish or vulgar, slang, Canada, US) Buttocks.
5. (vulgar, slang, Canada, US) The breasts of a woman.
6. (slang) Jail or prison.

   Bob’s in the can. He won’t be back for a few years.

   • 1988, The Traveling Wilburys, “Tweeter and the Monkey Man”, in The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1:

     The undercover cop never liked the Monkey Man / Even back in childhood, he wanted to see him in the can

7. (slang, in the plural) Headphones.
8. (archaic) A drinking cup.
   • 1600, [Michael Drayton, Richard Hathwaye, Anthony Munday, Robert Wilson], The First Part of the True and Honorable Historie, of the Life of Sir John Old-castle, the Good Lord Cobham. […]‎^[4], London: […] [V[alentine] S[immes]] for Thomas Pauier, […], →OCLC:

     VVhen the vulgar ſort / Sit on their Ale-bench, vvith their cups and kannes, / Matters of ſtate be not their common talke, / Nor pure religion by their lips prophande.

   • c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

     SIR ANDREW: Nay, my troth, I know not: but I know, to be up late is to be up late. / SIR TOBY: A false conclusion: I hate it as an unfilled can.

   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “A Vision of Sin”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 218:

     Fill the cup and fill the can: / Have a rouse before the morn: / Every minute dies a man, / Every minute one is born.

9. (nautical) A cylindrical buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark
10. A chimney pot.
11. (slang, in the plural) An E-meter used in Scientology auditing.
12. (US, slang) An ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana.
    • 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 […]

13. A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor.

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

1. (transitive) To seal in a can.

   They canned air to sell as a novelty to tourists.

2. (transitive) To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can.

   They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.

3. (transitive) To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).

   He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.

   • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, pages 67–68:

     My next stop is Oxford, which has also grown with the addition of new platforms to accommodate the Chiltern Railways service to London via Bicester - although, short sightedly, the planned electrification from Paddington was canned. Evidence of the volte-face can be seen along the line at places such as Radley, where mast piles are already sunk or lie discarded at the lineside.

4. (transitive, slang) To shut up.

   Can your gob.

   • 1929, Elmer Rice, Street Scene, New York City: Samuel French, Act II, page 146:

     Maurrant: Aw, can all that talk! You been listenin’ to them bolshevikis, that’s the trouble.

5. (US, euphemistic, transitive) To fire or dismiss an employee.

   The boss canned him for speaking out.

   • 2022 November 25, B. Cost, “Man wins legal right to be 'boring' at work, gets $3K from company”, in New York Post‎^[5], NYP Holdings, retrieved 27 November 2022:

     As a result of his refusal, the employee was subsequently canned in 2015 on the basis of "professional inadequacy" and failing to embody the "party" atmosphere that the consultancy was trying to cultivate.

6. (golf, slang, transitive) To hole the ball.
   • 1958, Dick Mayer, How to Think and Swing Like a Golf Champion, page 186:

     I thought I had canned it, but it just missed, and I tapped in the second one for a par.

7. (transitive) To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective cover.

• (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, sack; see also Thesaurus:lay off

• cancan / can-can
• Obamacan / Obama-can

• “can”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• ANC, CNA, NAC, NCA

Related to Somali caano, Oromo aannan and Saho xan.

• IPA^(key): /ˈħan/ [ˈħʌn]
• Hyphenation: can

cán m (plural caanowá f or canooná f)

1. milk

Declension of cán
absolutive	cán
predicative	cána
subjective	cán
genitive	cantí
Postpositioned forms l-case cánal k-case cának t-case cánat h-case cánah

• Loren F. Bliese (1981), A Generative Grammar of Afar‎^[6], Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington (doctoral thesis).
• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “can”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[7], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

From Latin canis, canem.

can m (plural cans)

1. dog

• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002), “can”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

From Latin canis, canem.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkan/ [ˈkãŋ]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: can

can m (plural canes)

1. dog (animal)

• perru

Old Anatolian Turkish جان (cān), from Persian جان (jân).

• IPA^(key): [d͡ʒɑn], [d͡zɑn]

• Audio:

  (file)

can (definite accusative canı, plural canlar)

1. soul, spirit
2. being, creature, life
3. body (in expressions concerning body sensations)

   Synonym: bədən

   Canım ağrıyır. ― My body is aching.

   Canıma üşütmə düşdü. ― My body is shivering.

4. force, vigour
5. life (the state of organisms preceding their death)

   canını almaq ― to kill (literally, “to take the life of”)

• Orucov, Əliheydər, editor (2006), “can”, in Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti [Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language]‎^[8] (in Azerbaijani), 2nd edition, volume 1, Baku: Şərq-Qərb, page 382

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈkan]

can

1. contraction of ca +‎ en, literally “the house of”

• “can”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Clipping of English canteen.

can

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) canteen; restaurant (in a university campus)

Clipping of English cancer.

can

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) cancer

• cancer, 癌症 (áizhèng)

• cānin

• IPA^(key): /kaːn/

cān

1. where
   • 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 4v. col. 2:

     Adonde?can?cancuixpan?cãcuix? cãyepa? canin? campa?Aduerbio.para preguntar.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • Idem, f. 12r. col. 2.

     Can?adonde?Aduerbio.para preguntar.

From Latin canis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaŋ/

can m (feminine singular câgna, masculine plural can, feminine plural câgni)

1. dog

Lepri, Luigi; Vitali, Daniele (2002), “can”, in Dizionario Bolognese-Italiano, Italiano-Bolognese. Dizionèri Bulgnaiṡ-Itagliàn, Itagliàn-Bulgnaiṡ, 2nd edition, Bologna: Pendragon, →ISBN

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish جان (cān), from Persian جان (jân). ^[1]Compare Turkish can, Azerbaijani can.^[2]

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɑn/

can (definite accusative canı, plural cannar)

1. an individual's life, soul, life

   canını ortaya koymaa

   to put one's life in line

2. soul, spirit
3. life, vigor

• Kopuşçu M. İ., Todorova S. A., Kiräkova T.İ., editors (2019), “can”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 5-12, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 40
• Mavrodi M. F., editor (2019), “can”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 1-4, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 20

• cam, cão (reintegrationist)

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaŋ/ [ˈkɑŋ]
• Rhymes: -aŋ
• Hyphenation: can

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese can, from Latin canis, canem. Cognate with Portuguese cão.

can m (plural cans)

1. dog

   Synonyms: cadelo, cuzo

   Cando o can ladra na rúa, non ladra de balde.

   When the dog barks in the street, it does not bark for nothing

2. (historical) 20th century 5, 10 cents of peseta coin

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese quan, from Latin quam. Cognate with Portuguese quão and Spanish cuan.

can m (plural cans)

1. how

Derived from Old French chan, from Medieval Latin canus, ultimately from Turkic *qan, contraction of *qaɣan.

can m (plural cans)

1. khan

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “can”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “can”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “can”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “can”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

can (plural canes)

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

• IPA^(key): /kan̪ˠ/, /kanˠ/

From Old Irish canaid,^[1] from Proto-Celtic *kaneti (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-. Compare Welsh canu, Latin canō, Ancient Greek καναχέω (kanakhéō), Persian خواندن (xândan).

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

1. to sing
   • 2015 [2014], Will Collins, translated by Proinsias Mac a' Bhaird, edited by Maura McHugh, Amhrán na Mara (fiction; paperback), Kilkenny, County Kilkenny; Howth, Dublin: Cartoon Saloon; Coiscéim, translation of Song of the Sea (in English), →ISBN, page 1:

     Thuas i dteach an tsolais, faoi réaltaí geala, canann Bronach Amhrán na Mara dá mac Ben atá cúig bliana d'aois.

     [original: Up in the lighthouse, under twinkling stars, Bronach sings the Song of the Sea to her five-year-old son, Ben.]

2. (Ulster) to speak, talk

   Synonyms: labhair, bí ag caint

can m (genitive singular cana)

1. sawdust, wood shavings
2. dandruff

can m

1. state, condition

can

1. (literary) whence

• can duit? (“where are you from?”)

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “canaim”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 113
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “can”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

From Latin canis.

can m

1. dog

• IPA^(key): /ˈkan/
• Rhymes: -an
• Hyphenation: càn

From Turkic.

• cane

can m (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) alternative spelling of khan

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

can m (apocopated)

1. (poetic, literary) apocopic form of cane; dog

• càn

From Latin canis, canem (“dog”).

• IPA^(key): /kaŋ/

can m (plural chen, diminutive cagnetto or cagnin, feminine cagna)

1. dog, male dog

• cagnara

From Latin Latin canis. Cognate with Italian cane.

can

1. dog

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃan/ [ˈt͡ʃan]
• Rhymes: -an

Borrowed from English chance.

can (uncountable)

1. (Malaysia, colloquial) chance (of opportunity)

   Synonym: peluang

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

can (plural can-can or can²)

1. (Pontianak) job
2. (Medan) opportunity

can

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

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

can

1. first/third-person singular present indicative of connen

can

1. alternative form of canne

can

1. alternative form of cunnen

Akin to Central Kurdish, Southern Kurdish and Gurani گیان (gian), Zazaki gan, Persian جان (jân); from Proto-Iranian *wyaHnáH. Badini giyan is borrowed from Sorani.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɑːn/

can m

1. spirit
2. dear

   Bra can!

   Dear brother!

3. A suffix for showing endearment mostly used by children towards family members

   Bavo can

   Daddy

   Daê can

   Mommy

In formal settings, can usually cannot be used to mean "dear" and hêja is used instead.

From Old Occitan [Term?], from Latin canis, canem.

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

can m (plural cans, feminine canha, feminine plural canhas)

1. dog, hound

can

1. first/third-person singular preterite indicative of cunnan

• cã, cãa, cam

From Latin canem (“dog”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkã/

can m (plural cães, feminine cadela, feminine plural cadelas)

1. dog
   • 13th century, Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional, Alfonso X of Castile, B 476: Non quer'eu donzela fea (facsimile)

     Non quereu donzela fea / E ueloſa come cam

     I do not want an ugly maiden, as hairy as a dog

• Galician: can
• Portuguese: cão

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “can”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2020–2026), “cão”, in Vocabulário histórico-cronológico do português medieval [Historical and chronological vocabulary of Medieval Portuguese] (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa
• Ferreiro, Manuel (2014–2026), “can”, in Universo Cantigas: edición crítica da poesía medieval galego-portuguesa [Universo Cantigas: critical edition of Galician-Portuguese medieval poetry] (in Galician), A Coruña: University of A Coruña, →ISSN
• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “can”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

• quan

From Latin quandō.

can

1. when
   • c. 1200, Peire Vidal, Ab l'alen tir vas me l'aire:

     Tan m'es bel quan n'aug ben dire.

     So much it pleases me when I hear it spoken of well.

can

1. (interrogative) when

• Occitan: quand

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

• (Jiezi, Gaizi, Qingshui, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA^(key): [ʒɑn]
• (Jiezi, Gaizi, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA^(key): [ʒɑːn]
• (Mengda, Qingshui, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA^(key): [ʝɑn]

can

1. soul

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “can”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, pages 371, 564

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 *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (whence know).

can (third-person singular simple present can, simple past cud)

1. can
2. be able to

   He shuid can dae that. ― He should be able to do that.

• cannae (“cannot”)

From Old Irish canaid (“to sing”), from Proto-Celtic *kaneti (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-. Compare Welsh canu, Latin canō, Ancient Greek καναχέω (kanakhéō), Persian خواندن (xândan).

can (past chan, future canaidh, verbal noun cantainn or canail or cantail, past participle cante)

1. to say

   cha chan mi càil mus can mi cus ― I won't say anything before I've said too much

2. to sing (a song)
3. to call [with ri]
4. future indicative dependent of can

• In most dialects of Scottish Gaelic still spoken, with the notable exception of Islay, the future and conditional tenses and the imperative form are very often used for the verb abair in place of the actual abair forms, particularly in colloquial language; the abair forms are recognised but considered Biblical or excessively formal. Some northern dialects, such as Skye and Lewis, extend this to verbal noun forms derived from can, such as cantainn and canail.

• Edward Dwelly (1911), “can”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN

Inherited from Latin canis, canem (“dog”). Cognate with Catalan ca, Galician can, Portuguese cão.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkan/ [ˈkãn]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: can

can m (plural canes)

1. (formal) dog, hound

   Synonyms: perro, (colloquial) chucho

• cánido

• cachorro

• “can”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [kaːn˧˥]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [kaːn˦]

From Chinese 乾 / 干.

can

1. dried up

   nà can ― dried up field

From Chinese 干.

can (Nôm form 干)

1. heavenly stem

can

1. to concern; to involve

   nắm can lăng thâng te ― to not have any relations to them

Borrowed from Vietnamese can.

can (Nôm form 干)

1. to dissuade

   can nắm hẩư tò đá ― to dissuade from insults

2. to warn and advise someone against

   Me̱ can lục bấu pây liê̱u.

   I advise you not to go out.

• Lương Bèn (2011), Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[9][10] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
• Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[11] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish جان, from Classical Persian جَان (jān, “soul, vital spirit, life”), Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (HYA), from Proto-Iranian *wyaHnáH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wyaHnás, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”). Doublet of anime through PIE.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒan/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: can

can (definite accusative canı, plural canlar)

1. soul, life, being
2. heart, soul
3. (video games) HP, hitpoints, health
4. sweetheart

This noun can be used in a countable way, unlike hayat, which means life as in the process of life. Compare:

• Kedilerin 9 canı var. ― Cats have 9 lives. (They have 9 lives)
• Kedilerin 9 hayatı var. ― Cats have 9 lives. (They live 9 lives at the same time)

• “can”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “can”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “can”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

From Latin canis, canem.

• IPA^(key): /kaŋ/

can m (plural cani)

1. (Belluno, Chipilo) dog

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaːŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kaːŋ˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Sino-Vietnamese word from 肝.

can

1. (alternative medicine) liver

Sino-Vietnamese word from 干.

can

1. ellipsis of Thiên Can (“celestial stem”)

can

1. to concern; to apply to
2. to be involved (in); to be implicated (in)

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 諫 (SV: gián).

can

1. to dissuade (someone from doing something); to intervene

From English canne.

(classifier cây, cái) can

1. walking stick

can

1. to join; to unite; to sew together

From French calque.

can

1. to trace (through translucent paper), to do tracing

can (genitive cana, plural cans)

1. sales commodity, merchandise, wares

• IPA^(key): /kan/
• Rhymes: -an

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kand- (“to shine, glow”).

See also Ancient Greek κάνδαρος (kándaros, “charcoal”), Albanian hënë (“moon”), Sanskrit चन्द्र (candrá, “shining”) and Old Armenian խանդ (xand).

can (feminine singular can, plural can, equative canned, comparative cannach, superlative cannaf)

1. bleached, white

can m (plural caniau)

1. flour

   Synonyms: blawd, fflŵr, paill, peilliaid

• cannaid (“bright, refulgent”)
• cannu (“to bleach, to whiten”)

Welsh numbers ^(edit)

		1,000
[a], [b], [c] ←  90	[a], [b], [c], [d] ←  99	100	120  → [a], [b], [c]	200  →
		10[a], [b]
Cardinal (vigesimal): pum ugain     Cardinal: cant, (before nouns) can     Ordinal: canfed     Ordinal abbreviation: 100fed

From Middle Welsh and Old Welsh cant, from Proto-Brythonic *kant, from Proto-Celtic *kantom (“hundred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm.

can

1. (cardinal number) apocopic form of cant (“one hundred”)

• This is the form the number cant (“one hundred”) takes when it precedes a noun.

From English can.

can m (plural caniau)

1. a can

• cân

• 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.

can

1. obsolete spelling of kan

can

1. obsolete spelling of kaan