hemp Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a plant fiber
  2. noun any plant of the genus Cannabis; a coarse bushy annual with palmate leaves and clusters of small green flowers; yields tough fibers and narcotic drugs
    cannabis.
  3. noun a rope that is used by a hangman to execute persons who have been condemned to death by hanging
    hempen necktie; hangman's halter; halter; hangman's rope.

WordNet

Hemp noun
Etymology
OE. hemp, AS. henep, hænep; akin to D. hennep, OHG. hanaf, G. hanf, Icel. hampr, Dan. hamp, Sw. hampa, L. cannabis, cannabum, Gr. , cf. Russ. conoplia, Skr. aa; all prob. borrowed from some other language at an early time. Cf. Cannabine, Canvas.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Cannabis (C. sativa), the fibrous skin or bark of which is used for making cloth and cordage. The name is also applied to various other plants yielding fiber.
  2. The fiber of the skin or rind of the plant, prepared for spinning. The name has also been extended to various fibers resembling the true hemp.

Webster 1913