Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CANE, n. [L. canna; Gr. καννα; Fr. canne; W. cawn; Sp. caña; Port. cana or canna; It. canna; Arm. canen; Heb. Ch. Syr. and Ar. קנה. In the Arabic, a word of this family signifies a subterraneous passage for water, or canal. It probably signifies a shoot.]

1. In botany, this term is applied to several species of plants belonging to different genera, such as Arundo, Calamus, Saccharum, &c. Among these is the bamboo of the East Indies, with a strong stem, which serves for pipes, poles, and walking-sticks. The sugar-cane, a native of Asia, Africa and America, furnishes the juice from which are made sugar, melasses, and spirit. [See Sugar-Cane.]
2. A walking-stick.
3. A lance, or dart made of cane. – Dryden.
4. A long measure, in several countries of Europe; at Naples, the length is 7 feet 3 1/2 inches; in Thoulouse in France, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches; in Provence, &c., 6 feet 5 1/2 inches.