ratoon

1 of 2

noun

ra·​toon ra-ˈtün 

1

: a shoot of a perennial plant (such as sugarcane)

2

: a crop (as of bananas) produced on ratoons

ratoon

2 of 2

verb

ratooned; ratooning; ratoons

intransitive verb

: to sprout or spring up from the root

transitive verb

: to grow or produce (a crop) from or on ratoons

Examples of ratoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Giant banana leaves, ratoons of sugar cane and bright orange guavas — set amid a jumble of sheds, trellises, fences and retaining walls — give the hill the look of a rural village carved from jungle. —Joe Mozingo, latimes.com, 4 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Spanish retoño, from retoñar to sprout, from re- (from Latin) + otoñar to grow in autumn, from otoño autumn, from Latin autumnus

First Known Use

Noun

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1732, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense