Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A volunteer worker in a hospital.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US A volunteer worker in a hospital or hospice.
  • noun US One who cheers others up with their youthful exuberance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a volunteer worker in a hospital

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From the resemblance of the volunteer's red and white striped uniform to a candy cane.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1944 US, due to red and white-striped jumpers worn by hospital volunteers, which resembled stick candy, originally a group of high school girls who volunteered as hospital workers at East Orange General Hospital.

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Examples

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  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

    noun

    Etymology: from the striped uniform worn suggesting the stripes on some sticks of candy

    Date: 1963

    : a teenage volunteer worker at a hospital

    February 3, 2008