Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STALK, n.¹ [stauk; Sw. stielk; D. steel; G. stiel, a handle, and a stalk or stem; Sax. stælg, a column; Gr. στελεκος; from the root of stall and G. stollen, to set.]

1. The stem or main axis of a plant. Thus we speak of a stalk of wheat, rye or oats, the stalks of maiz or hemp. The stalk denotes that which is set, the fixed part of a plant, its support; or it is a shoot.
2. The pedicle of a flower, or the peduncle that supports the fructification of a plant.
3. The stem of a quill. – Grew.