| rattle | 1. A rapid succession of sharp, clattering sounds; as, the rattle of a drum. 2. Noisy, rapid talk. "All this ado about the golden age is but an empty rattle and frivolous conceit." (Hakewill) 3. An instrument with which a ratting sound is made; especially, a child's toy that rattle when shaken. "The rattles of Isis and the cymbals of Brasilea nearly enough resemble each other." (Sir W. Raleigh) "Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw." (Pope) 4. A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer. "It may seem strange that a man who wrote with so much perspicuity, vivacity, and grace, should have been, whenever he took a part in conversation, an empty, noisy, blundering rattle." (Macaulay) 5. A scolding; a sharp rebuke. 6. <zoology> Any organ of an animal having a structure adapted to produce a ratting sound. The rattle of the rattlesnake is composed of the hardened terminal scales, loosened in succession, but not cast off, and so modified in form as to make a series of loose, hollow joints. 7. The noise in the throat produced by the air in passing through mucus which the lungs are unable to expel; chiefly observable at the approach of death, when it is called the death rattle. See Rale. To spring a rattle, to cause it to sound. <botany> Yellow rattle, a yellow-flowered herb (Rhinanthus Crista-galli), the ripe seeds of which rattle in the inflated calyx. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| rattlebox | 1. A toy that makes a rattle sound; a rattle. 2. <botany> An American herb (Crotalaria sagittalis), the seeds of which, when ripe, rattle in the inflated pod. Any species of Crotalaria, a genus of yellow-flowered herbs, with inflated, many-seeded pods. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| rattlesnake | <zoology> Any one of several species of venomous American snakes belonging to the genera Crotalus and Caudisona, or Sistrurus. They have a series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make a sharp ratting sound when shaken. The common rattlesnake of the Northern United States (Crotalus horridus), and the diamond rattlesnake of the south (C. Adamanteus), are the best known. <zoology> Ground rattlesnake, a small rattlesnake (Caudisona, or Sistrurus, miliaria) of the Southern United States, having a small rattle. It has nine large scales on its head. <botany> Rattlesnake fern, a plant of the composite genus Hieracium (H. Venosum); probably so named from its spotted leaves. See also Snakeroot. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| rattlesnake bite | A venomous (poisonous) snake bite. All rattlesnakes are venomous and secrete poisonous venom. (12 Dec 1998) |
| rattleweed | <botany> Any plant of the genus Astragalus. See Milk vetch. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| rattlewings | <zoology> The golden-eye. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| rattlewort | <botany> Same as Rattlebox. Origin: AS. Hraetelwyrt. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| death-rattle | A respiratory gurgling or rattling in the throat of a dying person, caused by the loss of the cough reflex and accumulation of mucus. (05 Mar 2000) |
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