rattern.
/ˈratə/, U.S. /ˈrædər/ 1. A rat-catcher; (now esp.) a dog or cat which catches rats.Recorded earliest as a surname.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > [noun] > that catches rats
ratter1225
rat-catcher1673
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of rats
ratter1225
rattoner1327
ratton man1480
rat-taker?1518
rat killer1527
rat-catcher1565
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > pest control > [noun] > extermination of rats > one who
ratter1225
rattoner1327
ratton man1480
rat-taker?1518
rat killer1527
rat-catcher1565
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > sporting or hunting dog > that hunts specific animals
bear dog1616
wolf-dog1652
coney dog1681
foumart-dog?1748
bird dog1755
boar-dog1792
bear hound1807
wolf-hound1823
toller1831
coon-dog1833
pig-dog1845
rat terrier1851
ratter1858
rabbiter1859
squirrel-dog1860
badgerer1876
boar-hound1884
turkey-dog1895
coon hound1920
1225 Patent Rolls Henry III (1901) I. 523 Ernaldus Ratter.
?a1500 Burgeys thou 12 Thy warderer..So wery is of superfluite He wolle no more be none ratoure.
1620 in J. S. Farmer Musa Pedestris (1964) 14 I doe excell..The Ratter..and Tinker.
1857 S. H. Hammond Wild Northern Scenes xi. 121 There was an assemblage of all the cats in that part of the town... Off at the right was an old spotted ratter.
1858 E. J. Lewis in W. Youatt Dog (N.Y. ed.) ii. 54 The little Dane is often a good ratter.
1887 Cent. Mag. Sept. 704/1 Against these ravages the company supply a special guardian in the person of the ratter.
1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh iv. 233 With that..line of bull, you ought to be able to sell skunks for good ratters!
1972 R. Adams Watership Down xxv. 184 The farm cat was bewildered by the speed and fury of Bigwig's charge. It was no weakling and a good ratter.
1992 Weekend Tel. 18 Apr. p. viii/2 The display also honours the only cat to win the Dickin medal, Simon, a ratter serving in HMS Amethyst.
2. † b. A person who refuses to join a strike; = rat n.1 4f. Obsolete. rare.
a. A person who deserts his or her party, cause, principles, etc.; = rat n.1 4d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > [noun] > desertion of one's party or principles > one who
renay1340
apostate1362
renegatec1450
starter1519
reniant1532
changeling1539
rannigala1560
recreant1570
turncoat1570
renegado1573
start-away1574
off-faller?1575
start-back1579
departer1586
reneger1597
retrospicientc1600
runagadea1604
renegade1611
turn-tail1621
runagado1623
trip-coata1625
retrogredient1650
retrograde1651
tergiversator1716
rat1755
ratter1819
tergiversant1833
blackleg1844
strike-breaker1904
faller-out1964
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > [noun] > deserting one's party > one who
rat1755
bolter1812
ratter1819
Jim Crow1837
kicker1888
1819 New Tory Guide 135 Though the worst of all ratters at ratting may rail, Who sees 'mid these rivals John William so pale.
1834 M. Edgeworth Helen II. xi. 228 In the famous old print of the minister rat-catcher..the ridicule on placemen ratters remains.
1885 E. A. Abbott Francis Bacon 84 The Essay on Faction is..almost cynical in its suppression of resentment against ratters and traitors.
1981 S. Koss Rise & Fall Polit. Press in Brit. II. v. 182 His prognosis proved wrong, for the Bill was carried through the Lords with the help of ‘ratters’ and abstainers.
1998 Southland (N.Z.) Times (Nexis) 21 Dec. (Features section) 2 Cullen, speaking in Parliament, described Myles as a ‘serial ratter’ because he was previously a member of four different parties at different times.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > worker according to manner of working > [noun] > striking > refusing to strike
dung1765
scab1777
knobstick1794
leg1815
rat1824
nob1825
black1826
blackneb1832
blacknob1838
knob1839
snob1839
blackleg1844
snob-stick1860
non-striker1868
ratter1890
strike-breaker1904
1890 Cent. Dict. 4973 Ratter, a workman who renders himself obnoxious to a trades-union.
3. Australian. A person who steals opal from another person's mine.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > [noun] > ore or from mine
high-grade1904
ratter1932
1932 I. L. Idriess Prospecting for Gold (new ed.) xxvi. 239 Ratters are men, a gang as a rule, who work your opal out for you while you sleep.
1964 W. C. Eyles Bk. Opals vii. 83 When the miners..went down the shaft, they found the ratters had cleaned the place out entirely.
1976 National Geographic Oct. 564/2 The mine ratters (thieves) are here, but that's been going on since King Solomon's mines.
2007 Seattle Times (Nexis) 16 Feb. i23 That insistence..leads Rex to be mistaken one night for a ‘ratter’, a thief poaching from another opal miner's claim.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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