Dictionary Definition
cane
Noun
1 a stick that people can lean on to help them
walk
2 a strong slender often flexible stem as of
bamboos, reeds, rattans, or sugar cane
3 a stiff switch used to hit students as
punishment v : beat with a cane [syn: flog, lambaste, lambast]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From cane, from canna, from κάννα, perhaps from Semitic (compare Hebrew קנה).Pronunciation
- /keɪn/, /keIn/
-
- Rhymes with: -eɪn
Homophones
Noun
- The slender, flexible stem of plants such as bamboo, reed, or the like.
- The plant itself.
- sugar cane.
- A short wooden or bamboo rod or stick used for corporal punishment.
- (the cane; uncountable) Corporal punishment consisting of a
beating with a cane.
- The teacher gave his student the cane for throwing paper.
- A strong short staff used for support during walking by the
disabled or infirm.
- After breaking his leg, he needed to use a cane to walk.
- A long collapsible (and usually white for improved visibility) wooden, metal or plastic rod used by blind people to feel for obstacles in their path.
Synonyms
- (slender flexible stem of plant such as bamboo):
- (plant itself):
- (sugar cane): sugar cane
- (a short wooden or bamboo rod or stick used for corporal punishment): switch, rod
- (corporal punishment consisting of a beating with a cane): a caning, six of the best
- (strong short staff used for support during walking by the disabled or infirm): walking stick
- (a long collapsible (and usually white for improved visibility) wooden, metal or plastic rod used by blind people to feel for obstacles in their path): walking stick
Derived terms
Translations
slender flexible stem of plants such as bamboo
- Catalan: canya,
- Chinese: 蘆葦, 芦苇 (lú wěi)
- Dutch: riet , rietstok
- Esperanto: kano
- Finnish: korsi, ruoko
- French: canne, tige
- German: Rohr
- Hebrew: קנה (qané)
- Italian: canna, canna di bamboo
- Navajo: akaz łikaní, dá'ákaz łikaní (stalk), lók'aatsoh (large reed)
- Spanish: caña
plant itself
sugar cane
See sugar cane
a short wooden or bamboo rod or stick used for
corporal punishment
the cane: corporal punishment consisting of a
beating with a cane
- Chinese: 抽打, 抽打 (chōu dǎ)
- Dutch: stokslagen m|p, de stok
- Finnish: piiska, keppi
- French: bastonnade
- Hebrew: מלקות (malqot) f|p
strong short staff used for support during
walking by the disabled or infirm
- Chinese: 手杖, 手杖 (shǒu zhàng)
- Dutch: wandelstok , stok
- Esperanto: promenkano, promenbastono
- Finnish: kävelykeppi
- French: canne
- German: Spazierstock
- Hebrew: מקל הליכה (maqél halikhá)
- Italian: bastone da passeggio
- Kurdish:
- Navajo: gish (walking stick)
- Portuguese: bengala
- Russian: трость (trost’)
- Spanish: bastón
a long collapsible (and usually white for
improved visibility) wooden, metal or plastic rod used by blind
people to feel for obstacle|obstacles in their path
- Chinese: 手杖, 手杖 (shǒu zhàng)
- Dutch: blindenstok
- Esperanto: promenkano, promenbastono, blindulbastono
- Finnish: keppi, valkoinen keppi
- German: Spazierstock
- Italian: bastone per ciechi
Verb
- In the context of "UK|slang": To strike or beat, notably with a cane or similar implement; to destroy.
- In the context of "UK|slang": To do something well, in a competent fashion.
- derived from "to beat" in gaming circles where "to beat" indicates success.
Translations
to beat
- Dutch: stokslagen geven
- French: bâtonner
Translations to be checked
- ttbc Arabic: (būʂ)
Anagrams
French
Etymology
From the anas, incremented with an initial "c".Noun
fr-noun f- duck (a female duck)
Related terms
Pronunciation
- /ˈkane/
Noun
(feminine cagna)Extensive Definition
- For similar words and other spellings and meanings, see Cane (disambiguation).
Walking stick
Around the 17th or 18th century, the cane took over for the sword as an essential part of the European gentleman's wardrobe, used primarily as a walking stick. In addition to its value as a decorative accessory, the cane also continued to fulfill some of the function of the sword as a weapon. The standard cane was rattan (especially Malacca) with a rounded metal grip. The clouded cane, as in the quotation below, was made of Malacca and showed the patina of age:-
- Sir Plume, of amber snuff-box justly vain,
- And the nice conduct of a clouded cane.
-
-
- - Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock
-
- Sir Plume, of amber snuff-box justly vain,
Origins
Walking sticks started out as a necessary tool
for the shepherd and traveler. A nice hefty stick was an excellent
way to protect against thieves and to keep animals in line. Over
time, the walking stick gradually began to be known as a symbol for
power and strength, and eventually authority and social prestige.
Rulers of many cultures, past and present, have carried some form
of walking stick or staff. (See more at Ceremonial
mace)
In the United States, presidents have often
carried canes and received them as gifts. The Smithsonian has a
cane given to George
Washington by Ben
Franklin. It features a gold handle in the shape of a Phrygian
cap. In our time, walking sticks are usually only seen with
formal attire. Collectors of canes look for the old, the new and
the novel (such as canes made from the penes of bison or bulls).
Retractable canes that reveal such properties as hidden
compartments, pool
sticks, or blades are popular among collectors. Handles have been
made from many substances, both natural and manmade. Carved and
decorated canes have turned the functional into the
fantastic.
Some canes, known as "Tippling Canes," or
"Tipplers," have hollowed-out compartments near the top where
flasks
or vials of alcohol could be hidden and
sprung out on demand.
When used as a mobility or stability aide, canes
are generally used in the hand opposite the injury or weakness.
This may appear counter-intuitive, but this allows the cane to be
used for stability in a way that lets the user shift much of their
weight onto the cane and away from their weaker side as they walk.
Personal preference, or a need to hold the cane in their dominant
hand, means some cane users choose to hold the cane on their
injured side.
Uses as verb
The verb to cane means to use a cane, but can also be a positive attribute applied to an action to imply enthusiasm e.g. "I caned it!" (both transitive) or be used intransitively in modern English slang to express causing pain (e.g. "Ah, that canes!")See also
Sources, references, external links
- Modern use of the cane for fighting based on practical Close Quarter Combat techniques
- Agony&Ecstasy dictionary of flogging devices
- Fashionable Walking Canes & Walking Sticks - History of Canes Page Info (reprinted with permission)
- CorporalPunishment
- Walking-Stick Papers (Robert Cortes Holliday, 1918) - Project Gutenberg ebook
- Modern cane fighting based on Oriental techniques
- Reprinted early 1900s information about the Vigny cane and associated techniques
- Gadget Canes
cane in Catalan: Bastó
cane in German: Rohrstock
cane in French: Canne (marche)
cane in Italian: Bastone
cane in Dutch: Cane
cane in Norwegian: Spanskrør
cane in Simple English: Cane
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Boston type, Braille, Malacca cane, New York
point, Optacon, Pathsounder, Seeing Eye dog,
Visotoner, advocate, aftergrass, alpenstock, anthrophore, arm, athletic supporter, axis, back, backbone, backing, bamboo, bandeau, baste, bastinado, baton, bearer, beat, belabor, belt, birch, bole, bra, brace, bracer, bracket, brassiere, buffet, buttress, carpophore, carrier, caudex, caulicle, caulis, cereal, cereal plant, cervix, club, corn, corset, cowhide, crook, crosier, cross, cross-staff, crutch, crutch-stick, cudgel, culm, cut, drub, embosser, farinaceous plant,
ferule, flagellate, flail, flog, fog, footstalk, forage grass,
foundation garment, fulcrum, funicule, funiculus, fustigate, girdle, give a whipping, give the
stick, grain, graminaceous
plant, grass, guide dog,
guy, guywire, handstaff, haulm, high-speed embosser,
horsewhip, jock, jockstrap, knout, lace, lash, lawn grass, lay on, leafstalk, line letter,
lituus, mainstay, maintainer, mast, neck, noctograph, optophone, ornamental grass,
paddle, pandybat, pastoral staff,
paterissa, pedicel, peduncle, personal sonar,
petiole, petiolule, petiolus, pistol-whip, pommel, prop, pummel, quarterstaff, rattan, rawhide, reed, reinforce, reinforcement, reinforcer, rest, resting place, rigging, rod, ruler, scourge, seedstalk, sensory aid,
shillelagh, shoulder, shroud, sight-saver type,
smite, spank, spear, spine, spire, sprit, staff, stalk, standing rigging, stave, stay, stem, stick, stiffener, stipe, stock, strap, straw, strengthener, string
alphabet, stripe,
support, supporter, sustainer, swagger stick,
swanking stick, swinge,
switch, talking book,
thrash, thump, tigella, trounce, truncheon, trunk, ultrasonic spectacles,
upholder, visagraph, walking stick,
wallop, whale, whip, whop, writing frame, writing
stamps