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Let vs Can - What's the difference?

let | can |

As nouns the difference between let and can

is that let is milk or let can be letter while can is song.

As a verb can is

(lb).

let

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) leten, .

Verb

  • (label) To allow to, not to prevent (+ infinitive, but usually without (to)).
  • :
  • *(Bible), (w) viii. 28
  • *:Pharaoh said, I will let you go.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is
  • *1971 , , (The Tombs of Atuan)
  • *:He could not be let die of thirst there alone in the dark.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
    • , volume=189, issue=2, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",
  • To leave.
  • :
  • *(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • *:Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, / But to her mother Nature all her care she lets .
  • (label) To allow the release of (a fluid).
  • :
  • (label) To allow possession of (a property etc.) in exchange for rent.
  • :
  • (label) To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; often with out .
  • :
  • (label)
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • To cause (+ bare infinitive).
  • :
  • *:
    • Soo within a whyle kynge Pellinore cam with a grete hoost / and salewed the peple and the kyng / and ther was grete ioye made on euery syde / Thenne the kyng lete serche how moche people of his party ther was slayne / And ther were founde but lytel past two honderd men slayne and viij kny?tes of the table round in their pauelions
  • *1818 , (John Keats), "To—":
  • *:Time's sea hath been five years at its slow ebb, / Long hours have to and fro let creep the sand.
    • Synonyms
    * (to allow) allow, permit
    Usage notes
    The use of "let" to introduce an imperative may sometimes be confused with its use, as its own imperative , in the sense of "to allow". For example, the sentence "Let me go to the store." could either be a second-person imperative of "let" (addressing someone who might prevent the speaker from going to the store) or a first-person singular imperative of "go" (not implying any such preventer).

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) . More at late, delay.

    Verb

  • (archaic) To hinder, prevent; to obstruct (someone or something).
  • * Bible, 2. Thessalonians ii. 7
    • He who now letteth' will ' let , until he be taken out of the way.
  • * Tennyson
    • Mine ancient wound is hardly whole, / And lets me from the saddle.
  • (obsolete) To prevent or obstruct (to) do something, or (that) something happen.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Acts VIII:
    • And as they went on their waye, they cam unto a certayne water, and the gelded man sayde: Se here is water, what shall lett me to be baptised?

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An obstacle or hindrance.
  • *, II.16:
  • *:Paulus Emilius'' going to the glorious expedition of ''Macedon'', advertised the people of ''Rome'' during his absence not to speake of his actions: ''For the licence of judgements is an especiall let in great affaires.
  • *Latimer
  • *:Consider whether your doings be to the let of your salvation or not.
  • (tennis) The hindrance caused by the net during serve, only if the ball falls legally.

    • Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * * * 1000 English basic words English irregular past participles English irregular simple past forms English irregular verbs English terms with multiple etymologies English verbs with base form identical to past participle ----

    can

    English

    (wikipedia can)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m) (first and third person singular of , Danish (m). More at canny, cunning.

    Verb

  • To know how to; to be able to.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Lee S. Langston, magazine=(American Scientist)
    • , title= The Adaptable Gas Turbine , passage=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.}}
  • May; to be permitted or enabled to.
  • To be possible, usually with be .
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
    • , chapter=5, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.
  • To know.
  • * 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.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
    • Let the priest in surplice white, / That defunctive music can .
    Usage notes
    * For missing forms, substitute inflected forms of be able to , as: ** I might be able to go. ** I was able to go yesterday. ** I have been able to go, since I was seven. ** I had been able to go before. ** I will be able to go tomorrow. * The word could also suffices in many tenses. "I would be able to go" is equivalent to "I could go", and "I was unable to go" can be rendered "I could not go". (Unless there is a clear indication otherwise, "could verb''" means "would be able to ''verb''", but "could not ''verb''" means "was/were unable to ''verb ".) * The present tense negative can not'' is often contracted to ''cannot'' or ''can't . * The use of can'' in asking permission sometimes is criticized as being impolite or incorrect by those who favour the more formal alternative ''"may I...?" . * Can'' is sometimes used rhetorically to issue a command, placing the command in the form of a request. For instance, ''"Can you hand me that pen?"'' as a polite substitution for ''"Hand me that pen." * Some US dialects that glottalize the final /t/ in can't'' ( even when stressed.
    Synonyms
    * be able to * may
    Antonyms
    * cannot * can’t
    See also
    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) canne, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium.
  • A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can ).
  • A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish.
  • (US, slang) toilet, bathroom.
  • (US, slang) buttocks.
  • (slang) jail or prison.
  • (slang) headphones.
  • (obsolete) A drinking cup.
    • (Shakespeare)
  • * Tennyson
    • Fill the cup and fill the can , / Have a rouse before the morn.
    Synonyms
    * (cylindrical metal container) tin
    Derived terms
    * beer can * can opener * carry the can * garbage can * kick at the can * kick the can / kick-the-can * kick the can down the road * trash can

    Verb

    (cann)
  • To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar.
    • They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.
  • to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).
    • He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.
  • To shut up.
    • Can your gob.
  • (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee.
    • The boss canned him for speaking out.

    Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * * * 100 English basic words English auxiliary verbs English defective verbs English irregular verbs 1000 English basic words ----