/ keɪn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] the hard hollow stem of some plants, for example bamboo or sugar
2.
[ U ] these stems used as a material for making furniture, etc. :
a cane chair
3.
[ C ] a piece of cane or a thin stick, used to help sb to walk
—see also walking stick
4.
[ C ] a piece of cane or a thin stick, used in the past in some schools for beating children as a punishment :
to get the cane (= be punished with a cane )
■ verb
[ vn ] to hit a child with a cane as a punishment
► can·ing noun [ U , C ]:
the abolition of caning in schools
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French , via Latin from Greek kanna , kannē , of Semitic origin.