canted (kanted)

[ = Sp. cantina ; dim. of It. Sp. Sp. canto , a side, corner, angle: see cant1 .] 1. A sort of sutler's shop in barracks, camps, garrisons, etc., where provisions, liquors, etc., are sold. The king of France established a sufficient number of canteens for furnishing his troops with tobacco. Rees , Cyс. Much of the time formerly wasted in the canteen , to the injury alike of health and morals, is now devoted to read Dr. J. Brown, Spare Hours, 3d ser., p. 181. ing. 2. A ve el used by soldiers for carrying water or liquor for drink. In the British army the canteen is a small ve el capable of containing 3 pints, which is carried by each soldier on the march, on foreign service, or in the field. In the United States army the regulation canteen is of tin, covered with a woolen fabric, is circular in shape, with sharp periphery and bulging sides like a double-convex lens, fitted with a cylindrical spout stopped by a cork, and holds about 3 pints; it is slung over the shoulder. A much larger kind, of the same materials, but with flat sides, and holding a gallon or more, is sometimes used, but not commonly carried on the person. 3. A square box, fitted up with compartments, in which British officers on foreign service pack a variety of articles, as spirit-bottles, tea and sugar, plates, knives, forks, etc.