kex noun. [kɛks] Now dial. ME.
[Perh. of Celtic origin: cf. Welsh cegid, Cornish kegaz, Breton kegid. See also KECK noun, KECKSIE.]
1. The dry, usu. hollow stalk of a large umbellifer (as cow parsley, hogweed, wild angelica, etc.) or similar plant. ME.
b. Such stalks collectively or as a material. M16-E18.

2. An umbelliferous plant with a hollow stalk. LME.

3. The hard case of a chrysalis. Only in 17.

4. fig. A weak spiritless person. E17-E18.

■ kexy adjective like a kex; dry and brittle; withered, sapless: E17.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲