cane

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /keɪn/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like ken /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #6887

Meanings

1

noun
A thin stick that someone leans on to help them walk.

The elderly man leaned on his cane as he climbed the stairs.
2

noun
A thin stick once used to hit children as punishment.

In the past, teachers were allowed to use the cane on misbehaving pupils.
3

noun
The hard, hollow stem of certain tall plants such as sugar or bamboo.

Workers cut the sugar cane by hand in the heat.
4

verb
To hit someone with a cane as a punishment.

The prisoner was caned in the public square.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a thin stick that someone... staffwalking stick

2 noun · a thin stick once used to... rod switch

4 verb · to hit someone with a cane... flog lambaste

Word family

Forms canedcanescaning

Derived forms cane-likecaneballcaneboardcanebrakecanecuttercanefieldcanefruitcanegrasscanegrubcanelandcanelesscanelike

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

candy cane
a hard sweet shaped like a curved stick, often with colored stripes

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Cane, recorded in Middle English, ultimately belongs to the family of Latin canna and Greek kanna, meaning “cane” or “reed.” The name reflects the plant’s hollow stem.

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.

cane Middle English canna Latin κάννα Ancient Greek 𒄀 akk 𒄀𒈾 sux

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# cane

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /keɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 6887

## Meanings
1. A thin stick that someone leans on to help them walk.
2. A thin stick once used to hit children as punishment.
3. The hard, hollow stem of certain tall plants such as sugar or bamboo.
4. To hit someone with a cane as a punishment.

## Examples
- The elderly man leaned on his cane as he climbed the stairs.
- In the past, teachers were allowed to use the cane on misbehaving pupils.
- Workers cut the sugar cane by hand in the heat.
- The prisoner was caned in the public square.

## Derived Forms
- cane-like
- caneball
- caneboard
- canebrake
- canecutter
- canefield
- canefruit
- canegrass
- canegrub
- caneland
- caneless
- canelike

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cane
- Root: canna
- Root: κάννα
- Root: 𒄀
- Root: 𒄀𒈾

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Cane comes 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.

## Topics
- People & Society

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