Cane

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /keɪn/

Definitions

1. A long stick used for support when walking, or a sturdy stem of certain plants like bamboo or sugar
2. A slender rod utilized for assistance in walking or hitting, as well as the stem of various plants that are often flexible and woody
3. An elongated implement that aids in mobility or as a tool for striking, along with the rigid stem of specific plants characterized by high strength

Etymology: The cane in your hand and the cane in a sugar field share a single ancestor, a word for "reed" that travelled from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean. The Akkadian "qanû" meant reed, and Greek borrowed it as "kánna," which Latin turned into "canna." Along the way the word kept hold of its core idea: a hollow, jointed, grass-like stem. The walking stick came later and by a different route. Old French "cane" meant specifically sugar cane, and English borrowed the word in the Middle English period as "cane," with the sense of a plant stem. Its use for a slender rod carried in the hand grew naturally from that picture of a long, straight, sturdy stalk, the same quality that makes bamboo useful for poles and rods. Cane is a doublet of "canna," the botanical term for a reed-like plant, and it is also related to "channel" and "canal," since all of these trace back to the idea of a hollow tube.

Synonyms: rod, stick, staff

Antonyms: softness, flexibility