Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RAT-AN', n. [Malay, rotan; Java, rottang.]

A name applied to stems, the growth of India, and the produce of various species of the genus Calamus, most or all of which are perennial, simple or unbranched, cylindrical, jointed, very tough and strong, from the size of a goose quill to the size of the human wrist, and from fifty to a hundred feet in length. They are used for wicker-work, seats of chairs, walking-sticks, withes and thongs, ropes, cables, &c.