rattle

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɹæ.təl/, [ˈɹæ.tɫ̩] Rhymes: -ætəl === Etymology 1 === From Middle English ratelen, of uncertain origin; perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch ratelen or of native origin related to Old English hratele, hrætele (“a plant known for its rustling or rattling sound”), ultimately imitative. The noun (c. 1500) is from the verb. ==== Verb ==== rattle (third-person singular simple present rattles, present participle rattling, simple past and past participle rattled) (transitive, ergative) To create a rattling sound by shaking or striking. (transitive, figurative, informal) To scare, startle, unsettle, or unnerve. (intransitive) To make a rattling noise; to make noise by or from shaking. (transitive, obsolete) To assail, annoy, or stun with a rattling noise. (transitive, obsolete) To scold; to rail at. To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering. To make a clatter with one's voice; to talk rapidly and idly; often with on or away. (UK, slang) To experience withdrawal from drugs. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== ==== Noun ==== rattle (countable and uncountable, plural rattles) Object that rattles. Any of various plants of the genera Rhinanthus and Pedicularis, whose seeds produce a rattling noise in the wind. [from 10th c.] A baby’s toy designed to make sound when shaken, usually containing loose grains or pellets in a hollow container. [from 16th c.] (music) A musical instrument that makes a rattling sound. [from 17th c.] A device which produces a loud rattling sound, especially one having a ratchet mechanism and spun round on a handle. (zoology) The set of rings at the end of a rattlesnake's tail which produce a rattling sound. [from 17th c.] Rattling sound. (onomatopoeia) A rapid succession of percussive sounds, as made by loose objects shaking or vibrating against one another. [from 16th c.] (now rare) Noisy, rapid talk; babble. [from 17th c.] (uncountable, now rare) Trivial chatter; gossip. [from 17th c.] A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer. [from 17th c.] (obsolete) A scolding; a sharp rebuke. [17th–19th c.] A rough noise produced in the throat by air passing through obstructed airways; croup; a death rattle. [from 18th c.] ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Arabic رَطْل (raṭl), variant of classical رِطْل (riṭl), ultimately from Ancient Greek λίτρα (lítra). Doublet of liter. ==== Noun ==== rattle (plural rattles) (historical units of measure) Alternative form of rottol: a former Middle Eastern and North African unit of dry weight usually equal to 1–5 lb (0.5–2.5 kg). === Anagrams === Tatler, latter