canto
Americannoun
noun
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music another word for cantus
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a main division of a long poem
Etymology
Origin of canto
1580–90; < Italian < Latin cant ( us ) singing, song, equivalent to can ( ere ) to sing + -tus suffix of v. action; cf. cant 1, chant
Explanation
Long books have chapters. Long poems do, too. But a chapter in a long poem is called a canto. There are several famous poems that are divided into cantos, including Dante's Divine Comedy, Spenser's The Faerie Queene, and Byron's Don Juan. Canto is an Italian word coming from Latin which means song or singing. From Italian it was borrowed in English to mean a section of a poem.
Vocabulary lists containing canto
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Poetry: Structure and Meter
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Reading: Literature - Poetry - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The challenges of those two roles are one reason that the piece is less commonly performed than other bel canto operas.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
Later observers, such as the opera critic Henry Pleasants, have noted the bel canto qualities of his singing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
“I was fortunate to be the assistant conductor to two major conductors of bel canto opera,” Peleggi said in an interview at Seattle Opera Center soon after arriving in town for the start of rehearsals.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 29, 2024
Born Maria Anna Sophie Cecilia Kalogeropoulos in New York in December 1923 to Greek parents, Callas was credited with the almost single-handed revival of the Italian bel canto vocal technique.
From Reuters • Oct. 25, 2023
Penelope could tell this by the way the children hung on her every word and demanded “More, more!” each time she reached the end of a canto and tried to stop.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
