cane

[keyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cane ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stick or short staff used to assist one in walking; walking stick.

a long, hollow or pithy, jointed woody stem, as that of bamboo, rattan, sugar cane, and certain palms.

a plant having such a stem.

split rattan woven or interlaced for chair seats, wickerwork, etc.

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.

the stem of a raspberry or blackberry.

sugarcane.

a rod used for flogging.

a slender cylinder or rod, as of sealing wax or glass.

verb (used with object), caned, can·ing.

to flog with a cane.

to furnish or make with cane: to cane chairs.

Origin of cane

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin canna < Greek kánna < Semitic; compare Akkadian qanū, Hebrew qāneh reed

Related formscane·like, adjectivecan·y, adjectivere·cane, verb (used with object), re·caned, re·can·ing.un·caned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cane

pole, rod, staff, pikestaff

Examples from the Web for cane

Contemporary Examples of cane

But the police nevertheless declared Stone to be “armed and dangerous,” despite getting around with a cane.
Hunt for Iraq Vet After Killing Spree
M.L. Nestel
December 16, 2014
Hitch picks up his cane, pushes her aside, and laboriously tries to get to his feet, saying, “I'll do it myself.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
He's grinning now and actually stretching his legs--his cane has fallen away as he speaks of the !
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
His friend has dropped hat and cane in shock but the drawing shows stuff that an Americana collector nowadays would kill for.
The Magazine That Made—and Unmade—Politicians
Anthony Haden-Guest
November 2, 2014
He pulls up his pants leg to show where a bullet hit him—the reason why he clutches a cane now.
China Propagandizes Rape Of Nanjing Survivors
Brendon Hong
December 29, 2013

Historical Examples of cane

And you seized his cane in a fury, and broke it in returning the blow.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
There are other details I might mention—that cane, for instance—but let it pass.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
He drew the cane out of the sand, thrusting the stick down in its stead.
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
Howard Pyle
Kirkwood poked his cane through the trap, repeating the address.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
His cane alone would have told it long ago, if nothing else had.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for cane

cane

noun

the long jointed pithy or hollow flexible stem of the bamboo, rattan, or any similar plant
any plant having such a stem

strips of such stems, woven or interlaced to make wickerwork, the seats and backs of chairs, etc
(as modifier)a cane chair

the woody stem of a reed, young grapevine, blackberry, raspberry, or loganberry

any of several grasses with long stiff stems, esp Arundinaria gigantea of the southeastern US

a flexible rod with which to administer a beating as a punishment, as to schoolboys

a slender rod, usually wooden and often ornamental, used for support when walking; walking stick

See sugar cane

a slender rod or cylinder, as of glass

verb (tr)

to whip or beat with or as if with a cane

to make or repair with cane

informal to defeatwe got well caned in the match

cane it slang to do something with great power, force, or speed or consume something such as alcohol in large quantitiesyou can do it in ten minutes if you really cane it

Derived Formscaner, noun

Word Origin for cane

C14: from Old French, from Latin canna, from Greek kanna, of Semitic origin; related to Arabic qanāh reed

cane

noun

dialect a female weasel

Word Origin for cane

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

Word Origin and History for cane

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.

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