What does cane mean?
A cane is the long, jointed, usually hollow stem of certain grasses and climbing palms — most familiarly sugarcane, bamboo, and rattan — and, by extension, any stick cut or fashioned from such material. In everyday use it most often means a walking stick: a slim staff that lends support to the elderly or infirm, or serves as a formal accessory. Cane is also a versatile raw material, woven into chair seats, baskets, and wicker furniture, and processed into sugar, syrups, and rum from sugarcane. Historically, thin canes served as instruments of discipline in British and colonial schools, giving rise to the verb 'to cane'. The word carries associations ranging from rural industry to old-world gentility, and its derivatives appear everywhere from confectionery (the striped candy cane) to garden design (the canebrake).
The hollow jointed stem of plants such as sugarcane, bamboo, or rattan, or a stick made from such material; also a walking stick or a rod used for punishment.
"She leaned on her cane as she crossed the cobblestone square."
To beat with a cane, especially as a form of corporal punishment; also to weave cane strips into wickerwork.
"In Victorian schools, misbehaving pupils were sometimes caned in front of the class."
Chiefly British; largely historical today due to the abolition of corporal punishment in most schools.
Regular plural; used for multiple sticks, stems, or rods.
"The vendor bundled the bamboo canes together for transport."
The same Latin word for reed gave us both cannon — because early cannons were cast like tubes of bamboo — and your grandmother's candy cane.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cane
The word cane derives from Old French cane, which itself came from Latin canna meaning 'reed' or 'tube-shaped stem', ultimately borrowed from Greek kanna. This Mediterranean root also gave English the related words channel, canal, cannon, and cannery, all connected through the idea of a hollow tube. Cane entered Middle English during the medieval period as trade in reeds, rattan, and sugar expanded across Europe.
Related word forms
How cane is actually used
As a noun, cane is neutral in register and common in everyday speech. The verb 'to cane', meaning to beat with a rod as punishment, is chiefly British and now largely historical following the decline of corporal punishment in schools. The plural canes refers to multiple sticks or stems.
Easily confused with cane
Cane is a stick or plant stem, while Cain is the biblical name of Adam and Eve's eldest son.
Cane is a hollow stem or stick; carn is a heap of stones used as a monument, chiefly in Celtic regions.