I. raˈtün noun
( -s )
Etymology: Spanish retoño sprout, shoot, from retoñar to sprout, shoot a second time, from re- + otoñar to grow in the autumn, from otoño autumn, from Latin autumnus
1. : a stalk or shoot arising from the root or crown of a perennial plant: as
a. : a sugarcane sucker arising from the base of a harvested plant
b. : one of the suckers arising below the developing pineapple fruit and used to produce a second crop
c. : a shoot of the third generation after planting of a banana plant
d. : Jamaica ginger of inferior quality consisting of small fibrous offsets of the rhizome
2. or ratoon crop : a crop (as of cotton or pineapples) produced by or on ratoon growth
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Spanish retoñar
intransitive verb
: to sprout or spring up from the root
some cottons ratoon freely
sugarcane ratooning from the root of the previous year's planting
transitive verb
: to grow or produce (a crop) from or on ratoons
ratoon a pineapple field