English Explanatory Dictionary

cane

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof:
  2. The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae.
  3. The plant itself, including many species in the grass family Gramineae; a reed.
  4. Sugar cane.
  5. Maize or, rarely, sorghum, when such plants are processed to make molasses (treacle) or sugar.
  6. The stem of such a plant adapted for use as a tool:
  7. A short rod or stick, traditionally of wood or bamboo, used for corporal punishment.
  8. Corporal punishment by beating with a cane.
  9. A lance or dart made of cane.
  10. A rod-shaped tool or device, resembling the stem of the plant:
  11. A strong short staff used for support or decoration during walking; a walking stick.
  12. A length of colored and/or patterned glass rod, used in the specific glassblowing technique called caneworking.
verb
  1. To strike or beat with a cane or similar implement.
  2. To make or furnish with cane or rattan.
  3. To destroy; to comprehensively defeat.
  4. To do something well, in a competent fashion.
  5. To go very fast.
  6. To produce extreme pain.
name
  1. Abbreviation of Canadian English.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/keɪn/ en-us-cane.ogg

Word forms

cane canes caning caned

Etymology

From Middle English cane, canne, from Old French cane (“sugar cane”), from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canna and kaneh. Related to channel and canal.

Synonyms

stem stalk trunk reed molasses cane rod switch a caning six of the best whipping cuts staff walking stick blind man's cane white cane cane it CE en-CE

Related words

Kirby Cane

Derived words

bamboo cane blind man's cane candy cane cane apple cane ash caneball cane beardgrass cane beetle cane bluestem caneboard cane borer canebrake cane brake cane carter cane cutter canecutter cane field canefield canefruit cane fu cane gall canegrass cane grass canegrub cane grub cane juice cane killer cane knife caneland caneless canelike cane-like caneology cane piece caner cane rat cane rust cane sugar cane syrup cane toad cane train caneware canework caneworking canite cany dumbcane dumb cane floricane giant cane great cane hill cane large cane lawyer cane macaroni cane maiden cane Malacca cane plant-cane primocane probing cane

Translations

Khiamniungan Naga: vāisǖāi
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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