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ratoon

or rat·toon

[ra-toon]
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noun
  1. a sprout or shoot from the root of a plant, especially a sugarcane, after it has been cropped.
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to put forth or cause to put forth ratoons.
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Origin of ratoon

1625–35; < Spanish retoño sprout, derivative of retoñar to sprout again in the fall, equivalent to re- re- + -(o)toñar, derivative of otoño autumn
Related formsra·toon·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ratoon

Historical Examples

  • They are called here, though I do not know why, ratoon oysters.

    Letters of a Traveller

    William Cullen Bryant

  • The first crop is called the "plant" crop, and those that follow are known as "ratoon" crops, the latter continuing several years.

    Under the Southern Cross

    Maturin M. Ballou

  • The first is called plant cane; the second is known as first-year stubble, or ratoon.

    Agriculture for Beginners

    Charles William Burkett

British Dictionary definitions for ratoon

ratoon

rattoon

noun
  1. a new shoot that grows from near the root or crown of crop plants, esp the sugar cane, after the old growth has been cut back
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verb
  1. to propagate or cause to propagate by such a growth
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Word Origin

C18: from Spanish retoño young shoot, from re- + otoñar to sprout in autumn, from otoño autumn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012