# cantilever

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkantɪliːvə/ · frequency rank #40,604

## Definitions
1. A beam anchored at one end and projecting into space, such as a long bracket projecting from a wall to support a balcony.
2. A beam anchored at one end and used as a lever within a microelectromechanical system.
3. A technique, similar to the spread eagle, in which the skater travels along a deep edge with knees bent and bends their back backwards, parallel to the ice.

## Etymology
First attested in the 1660s, probably from cant (“slope, edge, corner”) + lever, but the earliest form (c. 1610) was cantlapper. First element may also be Spanish can (“dog”), an architect's term for an end of timber jutting out of a wall, on which beams rested.

## Common misspellings (15)
`acntilever`, `canitlever`, `canntilever`, `cantielver`, `cantileevr`, `cantileverr`, `cantilevre`, `cantilevver`, `cantillever`, `cantilveer`, `cantliever`, `canttilever`, `catnilever`, `ccantilever`, `cnatilever`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cantilever