Having the shape or form of a rattle, especially resembling the segmented rattle of a rattlesnake.
From Latin crotalum (rattle) combined with the suffix -form (having the shape of), creating a descriptor for rattle-like structures.
Medieval European bells and rattles were sometimes called 'crotals,' and they had the exact same segmented, hollow design as rattlesnake tails—form follows function across completely different species!
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