rattan Hear it!

rattan definition

rat·tan (ra tan′, rə-)

noun

  1. a tall palm tree (genera Calamus and Daemonorops) with long, slender, tough stems
  2. a stem of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc.
  3. a cane or switch made from this

Etymology: Malay rotan < ? rautan, a thing that has been cleaned by stripping off the outside

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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