rat·tle 1
(rătl)
(rătl)v. rat·tled, rat·tling, rat·tles
v.intr.
1.
a. To make or emit a quick succession of short percussive sounds.
b. To move with such sounds: A train rattled along the track.
2. To talk rapidly and at length, usually without much thought: rattled on about this and that.
v.tr.
1. To cause to make a quick succession of short percussive sounds: rattled the dishes in the kitchen.
2. To utter or perform rapidly or effortlessly: rattled off a list of complaints.
3. Informal To fluster; unnerve: The accident rattled me.
n.
1. A rapid succession of short percussive sounds.
2. A device, such as a baby's toy, that produces short percussive sounds.
3. A rattling sound in the throat caused by obstructed breathing, especially near the time of death.
4. The series of horny structures at the end of a rattlesnake's tail.
5. Loud or rapid talk; chatter.
[Middle English ratelen; akin to Middle Dutch ratelen and Old English hrate, hratele, a kind of plant with rattling seed capsules, all probably ultimately of imitative origin.]