Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CANT, v.t. [L. canto, to sing; Sp. cantar, Port. id., to sing, to chant, to recite, to creak, to chirp, to whistle; It. cantare, to sing, to praise, to crow; Fr. chanter; Arm. cana; from L. cano, to sing. The primary sense is to throw, thrust or drive, as in can; a sense retained in the phrase, to cant over any thing. In singing, it implies a modulation or inflexion of voice. In Welsh, can, with a different sound of the vowel, signifies a song and white, L. cano, canus, and caneo. These are from the same root and have the same radical sense, to throw or shoot as rays of light, to shine, probably applied to the sun's morning rays. W. canu, to sing; Sanscrit, gana; Persic, kandam.]

1. In popular usage, to turn about, or to turn over, by a sudden push or thrust; as, to cant over a pail or a cask. – Mar. Dict.
2. To toss; as, to cant a ball.
3. To speak with a whining voice, or an affected singing tone. [In this sense, it is usually intransitive.]
4. To sell by auction, or to bid a price at auction. – Swift.