v. t. To make rattle; to scold vociferously; to cry down. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Prattled p. pr. & vb. n. Prattling ] [ Freq. of prate. ] To talk much and idly; to prate; hence, to talk lightly and artlessly, like a child; to utter child's talk. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To utter as prattle; to babble; as, to prattle treason. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Trifling or childish tattle; empty talk; loquacity on trivial subjects; prate; babble. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mere prattle, without practice. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Prattle. [ R. ] Jeffrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who prattles. Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Prattle. ] Empty talk; trifling loquacity; prattle; -- used in contempt or ridicule. [ Colloq. ] Abp. Bramhall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A rapid succession of sharp, clattering sounds; as, the rattle of a drum. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Noisy, rapid talk. [ 1913 Webster ]

All this ado about the golden age is but an empty rattle and frivolous conceit. Hakewill. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An instrument with which a rattling sound is made; especially, a child's toy that rattles when shaken. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rattles of Isis and the cymbals of Brasilea nearly enough resemble each other. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A scolding; a sharp rebuke. [ Obs. ] Heylin. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Zool.) Any organ of an animal having a structure adapted to produce a rattling sound. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The rattle of a 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 Râle. [ 1913 Webster ]

To spring a rattle, to cause it to sound. --
Yellow rattle (Bot.), a yellow-flowered herb (Rhinanthus Crista-galli), the ripe seeds of which rattle in the inflated calyx. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rattled p. pr. & vb. n. Rattling ] [ Akin to D. ratelen, G. rasseln, AS. hrætele a rattle, in hrætelwyrt rattlewort; cf. Gr. kradai`nein to swing, wave. Cf. Rail a bird. ] 1. To make a quick succession of sharp, inharmonious noises, as by the collision of hard and not very sonorous bodies shaken together; to clatter. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the rude hail in rattling tempest forms. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

'T was but the wind,
Or the car rattling o'er the stony street. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering; as, we rattled along for a couple of miles. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make a clatter with the voice; to talk rapidly and idly; to clatter; -- with on or away; as, she rattled on for an hour. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To cause to make a rattling or clattering sound; as, to rattle a chain. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To assail, annoy, or stun with a rattling noise. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sound but another [ drum ], and another shall
As loud as thine rattle the welkin's ear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, to disconcert; to confuse; as, to rattle one's judgment; to rattle a player in a game. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To scold; to rail at. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

To rattle off. (a) To tell glibly or noisily; as, to rattle off a story. (b) To rail at; to scold. “She would sometimes rattle off her servants sharply.” Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A toy that makes a rattling sound; a rattle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) (a) An American herb (Crotalaria sagittalis), the seeds of which, when ripe, rattle in the inflated pod. (b) Any species of Crotalaria, a genus of yellow-flowered herbs, with inflated, many-seeded pods. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Giddy; rattle-headed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An empty, noisy talker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Noisy; giddy; unsteady. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bat. [ Obs. ] Puttenham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A rattlehead. C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Rattle-headed. “A noisy, rattle-pated fellow.” W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, rattles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any one of several species of venomous American snakes belonging to the genera Crotalus and Caudisona, or Sistrurus; sometimes also called rattler. They have a series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make a sharp rattling sound when shaken. The common rattlesnake of the Northern United States (Crotalus horridus), and the diamondback rattlesnake (also called diamondback rattler, and diamondback) of the South and East (Crotalus adamanteus) and West (Crotalus atrox), are the best known. See Illust. of Fang. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Ground rattlesnake (Zool.), a small rattlesnake (Caudisona miliaria or Sistrurus miliaria) of the Southern United States, having a small rattle. It has nine large scales on its head. --
Rattlesnake fern (Bot.), a common American fern (Botrychium Virginianum) having a triangular decompound frond and a long-stalked panicle of spore cases rising from the middle of the frond. --
Rattlesnake grass (Bot.), a handsome American grass (Glyceria Canadensis) with an ample panicle of rather large ovate spikelets, each one composed of imbricated parts and slightly resembling the rattle of the rattlesnake. Sometimes called quaking grass. --
Rattlesnake plantain (Bot.), See under Plantain. --
Rattlesnake root (Bot.), a name given to certain American species of the composite genus Prenanthes (Prenanthes alba and Prenanthes serpentaria), formerly asserted to cure the bite of the rattlesnake. Called also lion's foot, gall of the earth, and white lettuce. --
Rattlesnake's master (Bot.) (a) A species of Agave (Agave Virginica) growing in the Southern United States. (b) An umbelliferous plant (Eryngium yuccaefolium) with large bristly-fringed linear leaves. (c) A composite plant, the blazing star (Liatris squarrosa). --
Rattlesnake weed (Bot.), a plant of the composite genus Hieracium (Hieracium venosum); -- probably so named from its spotted leaves. See also Snakeroot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Any machine or vehicle that does not run smoothly. [ Colloq. ] A. Trollope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Astragalus. See Milk vetch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The golden-eye. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. hrætelwyrt. ] (Bot.) Same as Rattlebox. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } (Zool.) The diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus); -- so called from its preference for damp places near water. [ 1913 Webster ]