CANTON (borrowed from the Ital. cantone, a corner or

See also:

• ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle)  , a word used for certain divisions of some European countries . In France, the canton, which is a subdivision of the arrondissement, is a territorial, rather than an administpative, unit . The canton, of which there are 2908, generally comprises, on an average, about twelve communes, though very large communes are sometimes divided into several cantons . It is the seat of a justice of the peace, and returns a member to the conseil d'arrondissement (see FRANCE) . In Switzerland, canton is the name given to each of the twenty-two states comprising the Swiss confederation (see SWITZERLAND) . In heraldry, a " canton " is a corner or square division on a shield, occupying the upper corner (usually the dexter) . It is in area two-thirds of the quarter (see HERALDRY) .