Racket \Rack"et\, n. [F. raquette; cf. Sp. raquets, It.
racchetta, which is perhaps for retichetta, and fr. L. rete a
net (cf. Reticule); or perh. from the Arabic; cf. Ar.
r[=a]ha the palm of the hand (used at first to strike the
ball), and OF. rachette, rasquette, carpus, tarsus.]
[Written
also racquet.]
1. A thin strip of wood, having the ends brought together,
forming a somewhat elliptical hoop, across which a network
of catgut or cord is stretched. It is furnished with a
handle, and is used for catching or striking a ball in
tennis and similar games.
Each one [of the Indians] has a bat curved like a
crosier, and ending in a racket. --Bancroft.
2. A variety of the game of tennis played with peculiar
long-handled rackets; -- chiefly in the plural. --Chaucer.
3. A snowshoe formed of cords stretched across a long and
narrow frame of light wood. [Canada]
4. A broad wooden shoe or patten for a man horse, to enable
him to step on marshy or soft ground.
Racket court, a court for playing the game of rackets.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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