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cane (kān)
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n.
1.
a. A slender, strong but often flexible stem, as of certain bamboos, reeds, or rattans.
b. A plant having such a stem.
c. Such stems or strips of such stems used for wickerwork or baskets.
2. A bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea) native to the southeast United States, having long stiff stems and often forming canebrakes.
3. The stem of a raspberry, blackberry, certain roses, or similar plants.
4. Sugarcane.
5. A stick used as an aid in walking or carried as an accessory.
6. A rod used for flogging.
7. A glass cylinder made of smaller, variously colored glass rods that have been fused together, used in glassmaking.
tr.v. caned, can·ing, canes
1. To make, supply, or repair with flexible woody material.
2. To hit or beat with a rod.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin canna, small reed, from Greek kanna, of Semitic origin; see qnw in Semitic roots.]
caner n.
(click for a larger image)
cane
top: cane strips used in basket weaving
bottom: crook-neck style walking cane
(click for a larger image)
cane
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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