| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
cane1 (keɪn) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. the long jointed pithy or hollow flexible stem of the bamboo, rattan, or any similar plant |
| b. any plant having such a stem | |
| 2. | a. strips of such stems, woven or interlaced to make wickerwork, the seats and backs of chairs, etc |
| b. (as modifier): a cane chair | |
| 3. | the woody stem of a reed, young grapevine, blackberry, raspberry, or loganberry |
| 4. | any of several grasses with long stiff stems, esp Arundinaria gigantea of the southeastern US |
| 5. | a flexible rod with which to administer a beating as a punishment, as to schoolboys |
| 6. | a slender rod, usually wooden and often ornamental, used for support when walking; walking stick |
| 7. | See sugar cane |
| 8. | a slender rod or cylinder, as of glass |
| —vb | |
| 9. | to whip or beat with or as if with a cane |
| 10. | to make or repair with cane |
| 11. | informal to defeat: we got well caned in the match |
| 12. | slang cane it to do something with great power, force, or speed or consume something such as alcohol in large quantities: you can do it in ten minutes if you really cane it |
| [C14: from Old French, from Latin canna, from Greek kanna, of Semitic origin; related to Arabic qanāh reed] | |
| 'caner1 | |
| —n | |
cane definitionand caine
|
a tall sedgy plant with a hollow stem, growing in moist places. In Isa. 43:24; Jer. 6:20, the Hebrew word _kaneh_ is thus rendered, giving its name to the plant. It is rendered "reed" in 1 Kings 14:15; Job 40:21; Isa. 19:6; 35:7. In Ps. 68:30 the expression "company of spearmen" is in the margin and the Revised Version "beasts of the reeds," referring probably to the crocodile or the hippopotamus as a symbol of Egypt. In 2 Kings 18:21; Isa. 36:6; Ezek. 29:6, 7, the reference is to the weak, fragile nature of the reed. (See CALAMUS.)