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ratoon

or rat·toon

[ra-toon]
|

noun

a sprout or shoot from the root of a plant, especially a sugarcane, after it has been cropped.

verb (used with or without object)

to put forth or cause to put forth ratoons.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for ratoon

Historical Examples of ratoon

  • 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

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

verb

to propagate or cause to propagate by such a growth

Word Origin for ratoon

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