▪ I. rattan, ratan, n.1
(rəˈtæn)
Also 7 rat(t)oon, 8 rat-tan.
[var. rotan1 a. Malay rōtan, app. for rautan, f. rāut to pare, trim, strip.]
1. a. One of several species of the genus Calamus, climbing palms growing chiefly in the East Indies, on the mainland and the islands, and to a small extent in Africa and Australia, and notable for their long thin jointed and pliable stems; also, a plant belonging to one of these species. b. = ground rattan (see ground n. 18 c).
| 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 17 Rattans grow in great abundance upon this Island. 1777 Miller in Phil. Trans. LXVIII. 177 Precipices..so steep that we could only draw ourselves up..by a rattan. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 57 In the rattan, the Epidermis of which contains a sufficient quantity of flint to give light when struck by steel. 1860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 129 These ratans form a tribe of plants..which, though they resemble grasses or reeds in their appearance, are true trees of the palm kind. |
2. a. A portion of the stem of a rattan, used for various purposes (
cf. quots.).
| 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 86 Every thing..is tyed with rattans and other strings. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 17 A shady Contrivance,..on the upper end of which sits the Master of the Family on a Bed of Rattans, a kind of Cane. 1796 tr. Thunberg's C. of Good Hope in Pinkerton (1814) XVI. 13 Small ratans..fastened together with cotton-thread, so as to form an arch or a vaulted roof over the tomb. 1817 Raffles Java I. 42 The rattans..of Java are on the whole inferior to those of Sumatra and Borneo. 1870 Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 252 These palms yield the canes or rattans of commerce. |
b. esp. A switch or stick of rattan, used for beating a person or thing, or for carrying in the hand.
| 1660 Pepys Diary 13 Sept., Mr. Hawley did give me a little black rattoon, painted and gilt. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 90 He..was chabuck't upon the soles of his feet with rattans. 1761 Ann. Reg. 185 Striking him with a rattan, at grumbling to do his duty. 1786 Lounger (1787) II. 196 When I meet a gentleman I must..flourish my rattan, to show my shapes. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xix. xviii. 229 A clothes-horse with a great-coat stretched out upon it, just ready for the rattan. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vi. vi. (1872) II. 196 Fritz he often enough beats, gives a slap to with his rattan. |
3. Without article, as a material.
| 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. x. 415 Each mast has only two shrouds made of twisted rattan. 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 106 The bow is generally of bamboo, and the string of split ratan. 1884 Sunday at Home June 397/2 These huts..are built of bamboos..tied with rattan. |
4. attrib., as
rattan bale,
rattan cable,
rattan cane,
rattan chair,
rattan furniture,
rattan mat,
rattan palm,
rattan rocker,
rattan rope,
rattan screen,
rattan stick,
rattan ware.
| 1800 Asiat. Ann. Reg., Misc. Tracts 216/1 The nutmegs are..packed up in *rattan bales. |
| 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 56 A wooden anchor, and *rattan cable, which by floating, made an excellent warp. |
| 1681 tr. Willis' Remg. Med. Wks. Vocab. s.v. Internodia, the spaces in a *Ratoon Cane between the joynts or knots. 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4054/6, 143 Bundles of Rattan Canes. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Cane, Canes make a considerable article in commerce. There are imported two sorts, viz. walking and rattan canes. 1870 Kingsley in Gd. Words June 389/1 ‘Calamus rotangi’ from the East, of which rattan canes are made. |
| 1879 Harper's Mag. July 211 In the large parlor..with *rattan chairs galore..presided Karl Whitaker. 1925 W. S. Maugham The Letter i. 9 The room is..quite simply furnished with rattan chairs, in which are cushions. 1972 D. Bloodworth Any Number can Play xv. 140 Comfortable rattan chairs. |
| 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 617/3 (heading) *Rattan and reed furniture. 1966 D. Forbes Heart of Malaya ii. 31 The old kind, built on stilts like a Malay house, with wide verandahs and rattan furniture, is still the best. |
| 1925 W. S. Maugham The Letter i. 9 *Rattan mats on the floor. |
| 1846 Lindley Veget. Kingd. 135 The *Rattan Palms..are described as inhabitants of dense forests. 1854 Hooker Himal. Jrnls. I. vi. 145 Bound tightly together by strips of rattan palm stem. |
| 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 617/3 We show a larger assortment of *rattan rockers in our special Furniture Catalogue. |
| 1900 W. W. Skeat Malay Magic 172 Six or eight coils of *rattan rope..are placed on a triangle formed with three rice-pounders. |
| 1902 Conrad Youth 205 The straggling building of bricks,..resounded with the incessant flapping of *rattan screens. |
| 1836 Dickens Pickw. xix, A thick *rattan stick with a brass ferrule. |
| 1971 K. Hopkins Hong Kong 247 Industries in which collective agreements have been signed include..*rattan ware. |
Hence
raˈttan v., trans. to fit with rattans;
† raˈttaner nonce-wd., one who wields a rattan;
raˈttanning, chastisement with rattan sticks.
| 1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master vii. 168 [He] then to teach him better manners, Converts the hammals to rattan-ers. 1847 H. Melville Omoo xxix. 110 The ratanning of the young culprits..may also be considered as in some measure characteristic of the [French] nation. 1895 J. M. Walsh Tea 67 The chest..[is] nailed, clamped, matted and rattaned. |
▪ II. rattan, n.2 (
rəˈtæn)
Also 8
ratan.
[Echoic.] = rataplan.
| 1787 Burns Let. Dr. Moore Wks. (Globe) 341, I did not know..why my pulse beat such a furious ratan. 1844 Ainsworth St. James i. v. 136 Their ears were saluted with the loud rattan of a drum. |
▪ III. rattan obs. form of
ratten v.