1560s, "practice of using thieves' cant," verbal noun from cant (v.1).
Entries linking to canting
cant v.1
1560s, "to speak in a whining voice," from cant (n.1). From c. 1600 as "to speak in the jargon of thieves and vagabonds;" 1670s as "talk hypocritically in pompous phraseology." Related: Canted; canting.