ratline 
one of a series of small ropes or lines which 
traverse the shrouds horizontally, thus form- 
ing the steps of ladders for going aloft Sheer 
ratline, every fifth ratline, which is extended to the 
swifter and after shroud. 
ratline-Stuff (rat'lin-stuf), ii. Naut., small 
tarred rope, of from 12 to '24 threads, from 
which ratlines are made. 
ratling (rat'ling), . A corruption of ratlin/: 
ratmara (rat'ma-rii), . [Native name.] An 
East Indian lichen, used iu dyeing. 
rat-mole (rat'mol), . Same as mole-rat. 
ratont, . An obsolete form of ratten. 
ratonert, . See rattener. 
Ratonia (ra-to'ni-ii), M. [NL.] A former genus 
of Niipirxlaceie, now referred to Mataybu. See 
Imxtnrd maluMjauy, under mahogany. 
ratoon (ra-ton'), n. [Also rattoon; = Sp. retoiio, 
a new sprout or shoot (> retoitar, sprout anew, 
put forth shoots again), < Hind, ratun, a second 
crop of sugar-cane from the same roots.] 1. 
A sprout or shoot springing up from the root 
of a plant after it has been cropped ; especial- 
ly, a new shoot from the root of a 8ugar-cane 
that has been cut down. Compare plant-cane. 
Plant canes generally take more lime than ratoons to 
cause the juices to granulate. 
T. Roughley, Jamaica Planter's Guide (1823X p. 344. 
Next year [second crop] the cane sprouts from the stub- 
ble, and is called first ratoons. . . . The second year it 
sprouts again, and is called second ratoons. 
The Century, XXXV. 111. 
2. The heart-leaves in a tobacco-plant. Imp. 
Diet. 
ratoon (ra-ton'), v. i. [= Sp. retoitar, sprout or 
spring up anew; from the noun : see ratoon, .] 
To sprout or send up new shoots from the root 
after being cropped or cut down : said of the 
sugar-cane and some other plants. 
The cocos, cassavas, and sweet potatoes will ratoon in 
two or three years ; the negro yams are a yearly crop, but 
the white yams will last in the ground for several years. 
T. Roughley, Jamaica Planter's Quide, p. 317. 
On the Upper Coast, above New Orleans, it is customary 
to let the stubble ratoon but once. In Cuba it often ra- 
toons six successive years, but the cane becomes constantly 
more woody and poorer in saccharine matter. 
The Century, XXXV. 111. 
ratount, . An obsolete form of ratten. 
rat-pit (rat'pit), n. An inclosure in which rats 
are baited or killed. The object is to ascertain how 
many rats a dog can kill in a given time, or which of two 
or more dogs can kill them most rapidly. 
rat-poison (rat'poi"zn), n. 1. Something used 
to poison rats with, as a preparation of arsenic. 
2. A West African shrub, Chailletia toxicaria, 
whose seeds are used to destroy rats. The genus 
belongs to the Chailletiacese, a small order allied to the 
Celastrinese and Rhamnacese. In the West Indies Hame- 
lia patem is called rat-poison. 
ratsbane (rats'ban), . [< rat's, poss. of rat 1 , 
+ bane 1 , as in henbane, etc.: see bane 1 ."] 1. 
Rat-poison. Arsenious acid is often so called. 
Wherefore . . . you see by the example of the Romans 
that playes are ratsbane to government of common-weales. 
Prynne, Histrio-Mastix, I., iv. 1. 
We live like vermin here, and eat up your cheese 
Your mouldy cheese that none but rats would bite at ; 
Therefore 'tis just that ratsbane should reward us. 
Fletcher, Sea Voyage, iv. 3. 
2. A plant, Chailletia toxicaria. See rat-poison,2. 
ratsbane (rats'ban), v. t. ; pret. and pp. ratx- 
baned, ppr. ratsbaning. [< ratsbane, n.] To 
poison with ratsbane. 
rat-Snake (rat'snak), n. A colubrine serpent 
of the genus Ptyas, P. mucosus, a native of In- 
dia, Ceylon, etc., attaining a length of 7 feet, 
frequently entering houses. Some similar 
snakes are also called by the same name. 
rat's-tail (rats'tal), n. 1. Same as rat-tail. 
2. A slender rib or tongue tapering to a point, 
used to reinforce or stiffen a bar, plate, or the 
like, as on the back of a silver spoon. 
rattt, . An obsolete form of rat 1 . 
rat-tail (rat'tal), H. and a. I. n. la. farriery: 
(a) An excrescence on a horse's leg, growing 
from the pastern to the shank. (6) A disease 
which causes the hair of a horse's tail to fall 
off; also, a horse's tail thus denuded of hair. 
Also rat's-tail. 
II. a. Same as rat-tailed Rat-tall flle, radish, 
etc. See the nouns. Kat-tail maggot. See under rnt- 
tailcd. 
rattail (rat'tal), . 1. A fish of the genus Mu- 
i-nn-iis, as M.fabricii or M. rupestris ; the onion- 
fish or grenadier. See cut under Macrnrus. 
2. A horse which has a tail bare or nearly 
bared of hair. 3. One of various plants hav- 
ing tail-like flower-spikes, as the common 
plantain and the ribwort plantain, and vari- 
ous grasses, including species of llottlmlliti in 
4973 
the United States and Iscneemum laxum (An- 
(IrojHH/on iit'rrnxii/t) in Australia, 
rat-tailed (rat'tald), . 1. Having a tail like 
a rat's ; having a rat-tail, as a horse. 
Here comes the wonderful one-hoss shay, 
Drawn by a rat-tailed, ewe-necked bay. 
O. W. Holmes, The Deacon's Masterpiece. 
2. Like a rut's tail in shape Rat-tailed kanga- 
roo-rat, B^gMANVMMM murinus, an Australian marsu- 
pial. Rat-tailed larva or maggot, the larva of certain 
syrphid flies, ending in a long slender stigmatophorous 
Rat-tailed Maegot and Fly of /-ristalis tenax. 
(Line shows natural size of fly.) 
tail of two telescopic joints, forming an organ which en- 
ables the larva to breathe from the surface while lying 
hidden in mud, etc. The larva of ErMalix tenax is an 
example. Rat-tailed serpent, Bothrops lanceolatus, a 
very venomous American pit-viper. Rat- tailed snrew. 
See shrew. 
rattan 1 , n. See ratten. 
rattan 2 , . and v. See ratan. 
rattan 3 (ra-tan'), n. [Imitative; cf. F. rata- 
plan, imitation of the sound of a drum ; cf . also 
rat-tat.~\ The continuous beat or re verberation 
of a drum; rataplan; rat-a-tat. [Bare.] 
They had not proceeded far, when their ears were saluted 
with the loud rattan of a drum. W. S. Ainsworth. 
rattanas (rat'a-nas), n. [Native name.] A 
kind of coarse sacking made in Madagascar and 
Mauritius. 
rattany, . See ratany. 
rat-tat (rat-tat'), n. Same as rat-a-tat. 
A breeze always blowing and playing rat-tat 
With the bow of the ribbon round your hat. 
Lowell, Appledore. 
rat-tat-too (rat'tat-to"), . An intensified form 
of rat-a-tat. 
The rat-tat-too of a drum was heard in the distance. 
Philadelphia Times, Oct. 24, 1886. 
ratteen (ra-ten'), M. [Alsorateen; = T>.ratijn 
= G. Sw. Dan. ratin, < F. ratine, a kind of cloth, 
= Sp. Pg. ratina =It. rattina; origin uncer- 
tain ; prob. (like F. rate, milt, spleen) so called 
from its loose cellular texture and likeness to 
a honeycomb, < LG. rate, honeycomb.] A kind 
of stuff, usually thick and resembling drugget 
or frieze : it is chiefly employed for linings. 
ratten (rat'n), H. [Also rattan, ration, rattin, 
rotten, rotton; < ME. raton, ratoun, ratone, < 
OF. (and F.) raton, a rat, = Sp. raton, a mouse, 
< ML. rato(n-), a rat: see rat 1 . Cf. kitten as 
related to cat.'} A rat. [Obsolete or prov. 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
Thanne ran ther a route of ratones, as it were, 
And smale ruys with hem mo than a thousand. 
Piers Plowman (C), i. 165. 
I comawnde alle the ratons that are here abowte, 
That non dwelle in this place with-inne ne with-owte. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 23. 
The bald rattans 
Had eaten his yellow hair. 
Young Be/tie (Child's Ballads, IV. 11). 
"A Yorkshire burr, " he affirmed, "was as much better 
than a Cockney's lisp as a bull's bellow than a rattan's 
squeak." Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, p. 64. 
ratten (rat'n), v. t. [< ratten, n. Cf. raf 1 ,*.] To 
play mischievous tricks upon, as an obnoxious 
person, for the purpose of coercion or intimida- 
tion. The members of a trades-union ratten a fellow- 
workman who refuses to join the union, to obey its behests, 
or to pay his dues, by secretly removing or breaking his 
tools or machinery, spoiling his materials, or the like, and 
ironically ascribing the mischief to rats. The practice 
was at one time prevalent in some of the manufacturing 
districts of Great Britain. 
For enforcing payment of entrance-fees, contributions 
towards paying the fermes (dues), as well as of fines, the 
Craft-Gilds made use of the very means so much talked of 
in the case of the Sheffield Trade-Unions, namely ratten- 
ing: that is, they took away the tools of their debtors. 
EnglM GU<ts(E. E. T. S.), Int., p. cxxvii. 
A piece of sulphate of copper put into an indigo-vat 
throws it out of order, by oxidising the white indigo and 
sending it in an insoluble state to the bottom. This 
is a method of rattening not unknown in dye-works. 
W. Crookes, Dyeing and Calico-printing, p. 548. 
Rattening, as defined by the Report of the Royal Com- 
mission, is "the abstraction of the workman's tools, so 
as to prevent him from earning his livelihood until he has 
rattle 
obeyed the arbitrary orders of the union." It is satisfac- 
tory to know that this system . . . was chiefly confined 
to Sheffield ami Manchester. 
George Hou-rll, Conflicts of Capital and Labor, vii. 13. 
rattenert, rattonert, [< ME. ratmicr, r<a- 
oncrr, rat-catcher, < OF. raton, a rat: see rat- 
ti'ii.~] A ratter or rat-catcher. 
A rybidour and a ratoner, a rakere and hus knaue. 
Piers Plowman (C), vii. 371. 
ratter 1 (rat'er), n. [< rat 1 , v., + -er 1 .] 1. One 
who catches rats ; a rat-catcher. 2. An ani- 
mal which catches rats, as a terrier. 
ratter 2 (rat'er), n. [< rat 1 , ., 2, + -er 1 .] One 
who rats, or becomes a renegade ; also, a work- 
man who renders himself obnoxious to a trades- 
union. See ratting, '2. [Colloq.] 
The Essay on Faction is no less frank in its recognition 
of self-interest as a natural and prevailing motive, and al- 
most cynical in its suppression of resentment against rat- 
ters and traitors. E. A. Abbott, Bacon, p. 84. 
rat-terrier (rat'ter"i-er), . A small active dog 
used to kill rats, 
rattery (rat'er-i), . [< ratter 2 + -y (see -ery).] 
The qualities orpractices of a ratter ; apostasy ; 
tergiversation. [Rare.] 
Such a spectacle refreshes me in the rattery and scoun- 
drelism of public life. 
Sydney Smith, Letters, 1822. (Dailies.) 
rattinet (rat-i-nef), n. [< F. ratine, a kind of 
cloth (see ratteen), + dim. -et.~\ A woolen stuff 
thinner than ratteen. 
ratting (rat'ing), . [Verbal n. of rat 1 , v., li.] 
1. The act of deserting one's principles, and 
going over to the opposite party. 2. In the 
trades, the act of working for less than estab- 
lished or demanded prices, or of refusing to 
strike, or of taking the place of a striker. 3. A 
low sport consisting in setting a dog upon a 
number of rats confined in a tub, cage, or pit, 
to see how many he will kill in a given time. 
rattish (rat'ish), a. [< rat 1 + -*7ji.] Charac- 
teristic of rats; having a rat-like character; 
like a rat. 
rattle 1 (rat'l), v.; pret. and pp. ratth'd. ppr. rat- 
tling. [< ME. ratelen, rattle, clatter, etc., < AS. 
"lirsetelan (cf. Ursetelwyrt, 'rattlewort') = D. 
ratelen, rattle, = LG. rateln, rateln = MHG. 
razzeln, rage, roar, G. rasseln (> Dan. rasle = 
Sw. rasla), rattle; freq. of a simple verb seen 
in MHG. razzen, ratzen, rattle; perhaps akin 
to Gr. Kpa&aiveiv, swing, wave, brandish, shake ; 
perhaps in part imitative (cf. rat-a-tat, rat-tat, 
in imitation of a knock at a door, rattan^, F. 
rataplan, in imitation of a drum, etc.), and in 
so far comparable with Gr. /tpArof, a rattling 
noise, Kporelv, knock, rattle, KpoTaliav, a rattle, 
KporaUl^uv, rattle (see Crotalus, rattlesnake). 
Cf . dial, rackle, a var. of rattle. Hence ult. rail*, 
Ralhts, rdle.~\ I. intrans. 1. To give out a 
rapid succession of short, sharp, jarring or 
clattering sounds; clatter, as by continuous 
concussions. 
The quiver raltleth against him. Job xxxix. 23. 
To the dread rattling thunder 
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak 
With his own bolt. Shak., Tempest, v. 1. 44. 
"Farewell !" she said, and vanished from the place; 
The sheaf of arrows shook, and rattled in the case. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., iii. 282. 
Swift Astolpho to the rattling horn 
His lips applies. 
Boole, tr. of Orlando Furioso, xxxiii. 
One or two [rattlesnakes] coiled and rattled menacingly 
as I stepped near. T. Roosevelt, The Century, XXXVI. 201. 
2. To move or be carried along with a continu- 
ous rapid clatter; go or proceed or bear one's 
self noisily : often used with reference to speed 
rather than to the accompanying noise. 
And off my mourning-robes ; grief, to the grave ; 
For I haue gold, and therefore will be brave ; 
In silks I'll rattle it of every colour. 
J. Cook, Green's Tu Quoque. 
I'll take a good rattling gallop. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, iv. 20. 
Wagons . . . rattling along the hollow roads, and over 
the distant hills. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 446. 
We rattled away at a merry pace out of the town. 
R. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, xiv. 
3. To speak with noisy and rapid utterance ; 
talk rapidly or in a chattering manner: as. to 
rattle on about trifles. 
The rattling tongue 
Of saucy and audacious eloquence. 
Shak., M. N. D., v. 1. 102. 
The girls are handsome, dashing women, without much 
information, but-rattling talkers. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 188. 
II. tratiK. 1. To cause to make a rattling 
sound or a rapid succession of hard, sharp, or 
jarring sounds. 
