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90s Slang You Should Know

cane

[keyn] /keɪn/
noun
1.
a stick or short staff used to assist one in walking; walking stick.
2.
a long, hollow or pithy, jointed woody stem, as that of bamboo, rattan, sugar cane, and certain palms.
3.
a plant having such a stem.
4.
split rattan woven or interlaced for chair seats, wickerwork, etc.
5.
any of several tall bamboolike grasses, especially of the genus Arundinaria, as A. gigantea (cane reed, large cane, giant cane, or southern cane) and A. tecta (small cane or switch cane) of the southern U.S.
6.
the stem of a raspberry or blackberry.
7.
sugarcane.
8.
a rod used for flogging.
9.
a slender cylinder or rod, as of sealing wax or glass.
verb (used with object), caned, caning.
10.
to flog with a cane.
11.
to furnish or make with cane:
to cane chairs.
Origin of cane
Middle English
Middle French
Latin
Greek
1350-1400
1350-1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin canna < Greek kánna < Semitic; compare Akkadian qanū, Hebrew qāneh reed
Related forms
canelike, adjective
cany, adjective
recane, verb (used with object), recaned, recaning.
uncaned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for cany
Historical Examples

  • He embraced his nephew, called Luquin and Larame to cany him, and went out with Reine.

    The Knight of Malta Eugene Sue

  • Some came from a distance of thirty miles, from Goderville, from Normanville, and from cany.

    Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert

  • "Your fighter squadron will cross over the French coast here, at cany," he began.

    Dave Dawson with the Commandos R. Sidney Bowen

  • Vantano, knowing how hazardous it would be for him to cany off his prey, determined to destroy it!

    Rule of the Monk Giuseppe Garibaldi

  • But out of respect for the royal blood, the Dauphin has credited a townsman with that which happened to the Lady of cany.

    Droll Stories, Complete Honore de Balzac
British Dictionary definitions for cany

cane1

/keɪn/
noun
1.
  1. the long jointed pithy or hollow flexible stem of the bamboo, rattan, or any similar plant
  2. any plant having such a stem
2.
  1. strips of such stems, woven or interlaced to make wickerwork, the seats and backs of chairs, etc
  2. (as modifier): a cane chair
3.
the woody stem of a reed, young grapevine, blackberry, raspberry, or loganberry
4.
any of several grasses with long stiff stems, esp Arundinaria gigantea of the southeastern US
5.
a flexible rod with which to administer a beating as a punishment, as to schoolboys
6.
a slender rod, usually wooden and often ornamental, used for support when walking; walking stick
7.
See sugar cane
8.
a slender rod or cylinder, as of glass
verb (transitive)
9.
to whip or beat with or as if with a cane
10.
to make or repair with cane
11.
(informal) to defeat: we got well caned in the match
12.
(slang) cane it, to do something with great power, force, or speed or consume something such as alcohol in large quantities: you can do it in ten minutes if you really cane it
Derived Forms
caner, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Latin canna, from Greek kanna, of Semitic origin; related to Arabic qanāh reed

cane2

/keɪn/
noun
1.
(dialect) a female weasel
Word Origin
C18: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for cany

cane

v.

"to beat with a walking stick," 1660s, from cane (n.). Related: Caned; caning.

cane

n.

late 14c., from Old French cane "reed, cane, spear" (13c., Modern French canne), from Latin canna "reed, cane," from Greek kanna, perhaps from Assyrian qanu "tube, reed" (cf. Hebrew qaneh, Arabic qanah "reed"), from Sumerian gin "reed." But Tucker finds this borrowing "needless" and proposes a native Indo-European formation from a root meaning "to bind, bend." Sense of "walking stick" in English is 1580s.

v.

"to beat with a walking stick," 1660s, from cane (n.). Related: Caned; caning.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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