Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ratten \Rat"ten\, v. t. [Prov. E. ratten a rat, hence the verb
   literally means, to do mischief like a rat.]
   To deprive feloniously of the tools used in one's employment
   (as by breaking or stealing them), for the purpose of
   annoying; as, to ratten a mechanic who works during a strike.
   [Trades-union Cant] --J. McCarthy.