Cant

a. [It. in can taro.] To cry out or proclaim a public sale; to sell by auction. -A sale by auction. "Numbers... sell their leases by cant."-Swift. Cant, a . Vulgar; inelegant; affected; as, a cant song. Can't, ( kant .) A contracted colloquialism for can not . Cantab', n. [An abbreviation of Cant a brig i an .] A native or inhabitant of Cant a brig i a , the modern Cambridge, England. More particularly applied to a student of the university. (Used as a colloquialism.) "The rattle-pated trick of a young Cantab." Sir W. Scott . Cantabile, ( kan - tab'i -le,) adv. and n. [It., from cant are, to sing. See CANTATA.] ( Mus .) In instrumental as well as in vocal music, C. denotes the easy flowing of sounds of a melody, in contradistinction to highly elaborated pa ages. In songs, the melodies which lie chiefly in the middle region of the voice are marked C., or Cantilena; extreme tones of the voice have a peculiar timbre and character quite foreign to the cantabile. C. marked at the beginning of a piece means rather slow than quick. Cantabri, (kān-taibrē,) n. pl. (Anc. Hist .) The name of a tribe anciently inhabiting part of N. Spain, and the last in the Iberian peninsula to submit to the Roman yoke in the reign of August us, by whom they were subdued в. с. 25. Agrippa suppre ed an insurrection among them B. c. 19, when the greater part of the nation perished by the sword, the survivors being driven from their mountain fastne es, and compelled to reside in the valleys, where they were kept in awe by strong garrisons established by Tiberius. The Basques are regarded as the descendants of this fearle and warlike people. Cant a brian, a. Pertaining to Cantabria, the ancient name of what is now known as the Basque country, in Spain. Cant a brian Mountains, the W. continuation of the system of the Pyrenees, in Spain, extending as far as Cape Finisterre. Some of their summits attain an elevation of 10,000 feet. Cant a brig i an, ( kan - ta - briji -an,) n. [See CANTAB.] A graduate or student of the University of Cambridge, Eng. Cantacuze'nus, Cantacuzene', JOHANNES, a Byzantine emperor, B. about 1300. After filling several important offices, he was proclaimed emperor by the nobles and soldiery; and he endeavored to heal the wounds which five years of civil war had inflicted on the state; but the jealousy of Palæologus, the rebellion of his own son, and other disasters, induced him to resign the crown and to retire to a monastery, where he employed himself in literary labors. The date of his death is not known, but he is said to have lived above a century. C. may be considered as one of the greatest among the succe ors of Const an tine. Can'tal, an inland dep. of France, formed of parts of the ancient districts of Haute-Auvergne and Velay, between 44° 37′ and 45° 26' N. Lat., and 2° 5' and 3° 14′ E. Lon.; bounded N. by Puy-de-Dome, E. Haute-Loire, S.E. Lozère, S. Aveyron, and on the W. by Lot and Corrèze. Surface . Mountainous; the highest summit, Plomb-de-Cantal, being 6,040 feet above sea-level. Soil. Poor, and agriculture very backward. Prod . Buckwheat, chestnuts, hemp, and flax. Pasturage is good, and large herds of cattle and sheep are fattened for export. -Manf . Coarse woollens, linens, and laces; copper and bra goods; paper, leather, . - Chief Towns. Aurillac, St. Flour, Murat, and Mauriac. Pop . 264.575.