can
Part of speech: verb
intj
particle
noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: nautical
transport
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *-né-
Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥néh₃ti
Proto-Germanic *kunnaną
Proto-West Germanic *kunnan
Old English cunnan
Middle English can
English can
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.
Inflected forms:
form: can
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: able
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
suppletive
form: could
pos: verb
tags: past
form: couth
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
participle
past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: -
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: can
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: could
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: can
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: canst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: cannest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: could
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: couldst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: couldest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: could'st
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: can
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: canneth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
rare
singular
third-person
form: could
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: can
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: could
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: can
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: could
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: can
pos: verb
tags: archaic
imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: able
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: canning
pos: verb
tags: archaic
participle
present
form: could
pos: verb
tags: dialectal
participle
past
form: canne
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: kin
pos: verb
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: c'
pos: verb
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: canne
pos: intj
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: kin
pos: intj
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: c'
pos: intj
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: canne
pos: particle
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: kin
pos: particle
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: c'
pos: particle
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: cans
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To know how to.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
defective
examples: She can speak English, French, and German.
I can play football.
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.
If thou canst awake by four o' the clock, / I prithee call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly.
gloss: To be able to.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
defective
examples: Can you remember your fifth birthday?
Animals can experience emotions.
Can you hear that?
I can feel the baby moving inside me.
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.
gloss: May; to be permitted or enabled to.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
defective
informal
modal
examples: You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.
Can I use your pen?
gloss: To have the potential to; to be possible for (someone or something) to.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
defective
modal
examples: Can it be Friday already?
Teenagers can really try their parents' patience.
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?
Teenagers can be so cruel, and nicknames cut deep.
gloss: Used to form requests, typically polite.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
defective
informal
modal
examples: Can you please come over here?
Can we try that scene again?
gloss: To know.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: 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.
Let the priest in surplice white, / That defunctive music can.
gloss: To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed). third-person singular simple present indicative of can
pos: verb
tags: India
nonstandard
proscribed
examples: Importance of Identifying Leaf: Identify Plants: If we can able to identify leaf, we can easily able to identify plants.
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[…]
It can possible to design the ruleset refreshes that allow them to subsequently run at precise interludes and these keep informed.
gloss: To be able to or know how to (do something); an accompanying verb is not required if it is already inferable from context.
pos: verb
tags: Manglish
Singlish
auxiliary
intransitive
examples: Can anot?
gloss: 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.
pos: verb
tags: Manglish
Singlish
intransitive
examples: Can liao, don’t need to use so much glue.
We have been doing this for 50 years, we have shown you what we can do. If I say can, means can. […]
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.
When controversial KOL Sylvia Chan resurfaced in March as a life coach, the general online sentiment was, “Huh, can meh?”
gloss: OK, sure; indicates approval or acknowledgment.
pos: intj
tags: Manglish
Singlish
gloss: Used to convey reassurance.
pos: intj
tags: Manglish
Singlish
gloss: OK(?); used at the end of a question when seeking approval or acknowledgment.
pos: particle
tags: Manglish
Singlish
interrogative
examples: I cut this wire, can?
Can you go collect them or not? The shop is at Jalan Sultan. I’m not free, otherwise I’ll do it myself. Can?
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?
gloss: A container or vessel, especially for liquids, usually made of metal.
pos: noun
examples: I keep a can of fuel for emergencies.
gloss: A container or vessel, especially for liquids, usually made of metal.
pos: noun
examples: Soup in a can lasts for years.
gloss: A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).
pos: noun
gloss: A chamber pot.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
gloss: A chamber pot.
pos: noun
tags: US
archaic
slang
examples: Shit or get off the can.
Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me.
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.
gloss: Buttocks.
pos: noun
tags: Canada
US
childish
slang
vulgar
gloss: The breasts of a woman.
pos: noun
tags: Canada
US
slang
vulgar
gloss: Jail or prison.
pos: noun
tags: slang
examples: Bob’s in the can. He won’t be back for a few years.
The undercover cop never liked the Monkey Man / Even back in childhood, he wanted to see him in the can
gloss: Headphones.
pos: noun
tags: in-plural
slang
gloss: A drinking cup.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
examples: 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.
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.
Fill the cup and fill the can: / Have a rouse before the morn: / Every minute dies a man, / Every minute one is born.
gloss: A cylindrical buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark
pos: noun
gloss: A chimney pot.
pos: noun
gloss: An E-meter used in Scientology auditing.
pos: noun
tags: in-plural
slang
gloss: An ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana.
pos: noun
tags: US
slang
examples: […] 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 […]
gloss: A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor.
pos: noun
Derived words: as best as one can
as far as one can tell
because one can
before one can blink
can but hope
can do
can-do
can-doer
can-do-ness
can do with
can haz
can is can
can I smoke
can not
can too
can wait
can you not
could not get elected dogcatcher
nice work if you can get it
no can do
nothing gold can stay
one bad apple can spoil the barrel
one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must
unable to can
what can I do you for
what can I say
what can I tell you
what can one do
what can you do
ashcan
booze can
canakin
can buoy
can deposit
candock
can-eater
canful
can hook
canhouse
can house
can kicker
can-kicking
cankin
can light
canlike
Canner
cannery
cannular
can of corn
can of worms
can opener
cantenna
carry the can
cheese in a can
chimney can
crowler
dunny can
firecan
gas can
GI can
hot water can
in the can
kick at the can
kick the can
kick-the-can
kick the can down the road
know someone from a can of paint
milk can
minican
oilcan
oil can
open a can of whoop ass
open up a can of whoop ass
rattle can
sea can
shitcan
shower in a can
spam in a can
swill-can
tie a can to it
tip the can
tomato can
water can
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: kanaçe
lang: Arabic
word: صَفِيحَة
roman: ṣafīḥa
lang: Arabic
word: علبة
roman: ʕulbe, ʕilbe
lang: Arabic
word: تنكة
roman: tánake
lang: Aragonese
word: cozero
lang: Aragonese
word: cachuelo
lang: Aragonese
word: caxot
lang: Aragonese
word: caxoloto
lang: Armenian
word: անագ
roman: anag
lang: Assamese
word: টেমা
roman: tema
lang: Asturian
word: bote
lang: Asturian
word: lata
lang: Bulgarian
word: тенекиена кутия
roman: tenekiena kutija
lang: Catalan
word: llauna
lang: Cherokee
word: ᏔᎷᎩᏍᎩ
roman: talugisgi
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 罐頭 /罐头
roman: guàntóu
lang: Czech
word: plechovka
lang: Danish
word: dåse
lang: Dutch
word: kan
lang: Esperanto
word: ladskatolo
lang: Estonian
word: karp
lang: Estonian
word: purk
lang: Faroese
word: blikk
lang: Finnish
word: purkki
lang: Finnish
word: tölkki
lang: French
word: bidon
lang: French
word: canette
lang: Galician
word: tango
lang: Galician
word: tanque
lang: Galician
word: canada
lang: Galician
word: cacharela
lang: Georgian
word: კალის
roman: ḳalis
lang: Georgian
word: თუნუქის
roman: tunukis
lang: German
word: Blechdose
lang: German
word: Kanister
lang: Greek
word: κουτάκι
roman: koutáki
lang: Hebrew
word: פַּחִית
roman: paẖít
lang: Hungarian
word: doboz
lang: Icelandic
word: dós
lang: Indonesian
word: kaleng
lang: Italian
word: lattina
lang: Japanese
word: 缶
roman: kan
lang: Khmer
word: កំប៉ង់
roman: kɑmpong
lang: Khmer
word: កំប៉ុង
roman: kɑmpong
lang: Kikuyu
word: mũkebe
lang: Korean
word: 깡통
roman: kkangtong
lang: Korean
word: 통조림
roman: tongjorim
lang: Korean
word: 캔
roman: kaen
lang: Central Kurdish
word: قوتو
roman: qutu
lang: Central Kurdish
word: تەنەکە
roman: teneke
lang: Lao
word: ກະປ່ອງ
roman: ka pǭng
lang: Latvian
word: kārba
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Béchs
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Dous
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Biddong
lang: Macedonian
word: лименка
roman: limenka
lang: Malay
word: tin
lang: Malay
word: kupi
lang: Malay
word: kaleng
lang: Māori
word: kēne
lang: Māori
word: tini
lang: Māori
word: kēna
lang: Marathi
word: कॅन
roman: kĕn
lang: Mongolian
word: цагаан тугалга
roman: cagaan tugalga
lang: Mongolian
word: лааз
roman: laaz
lang: Nahuatl
word: tepoztecontli
lang: Navajo
word: yadiizíní
lang: Norman
word: canne
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: boks
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: kanne
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: boks
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: kanne
lang: Persian
word: قوطی
roman: quti
lang: Polish
word: kanister
lang: Polish
word: bańka
lang: Polish
word: puszka
lang: Portuguese
word: lata
lang: Romanian
word: doză
lang: Russian
word: бидо́н
roman: bidón
lang: Russian
word: жбан
roman: žban
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: cana
lang: Slovene
word: pločevinka
lang: Spanish
word: lata
lang: Swahili
word: kopo
lang: Swedish
word: burk
lang: Tamil
word: கன்னல்
roman: kaṉṉal
lang: Thai
word: กระป๋อง
roman: grà-bpɔ̌ng
lang: Tibetan
word: ལྕགས་ཊིན་
roman: lcags ṭin
lang: Turkish
word: kutu
lang: Turkish
word: teneke kutu
lang: Vietnamese
word: lon
lang: Welsh
word: can
lang: Yiddish
word: קענדל
roman: kendl
lang: Zhuang
word: guenqdaeuz
lang: Zhuang
word: gvandouz