Batten
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batten¹
- /ˈbæt(ə)n/ UK
- /ˈbætən/ US
- [-ɾən] US
Sounds like baton (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -ætən
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English *battenen, *batnen, of North Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse batna (“to grow better, improve, recover”), from Proto-Germanic *batnaną (“to become better, improve”) (compare Old Norse bati (“advantage, improvement”), from Proto-Germanic *batô (“improvement, recovery”)), from *bataz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- (“good”). Compare battle (“(adjective) improving; fattening, nutritious; fertile, fruitful; (verb) to feed or nourish; to render (land, etc.) fertile or fruitful”) (obsolete).
The adjective is probably derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Dutch baten (“to avail, benefit, profit”)
* Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌽𐌰𐌽 (gabatnan, “to benefit, profit”)
* Icelandic batna (“to improve, recover”)
* Old English batian (“to get better, recover”)
verb battens · battening · battened · batten
- To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding; to fatten. VVe drove a field, and both together heard / VVhat time the Gray-fly vvinds her ſultry horn, / Batt'ning our flocks vvith the freſh devvs of night, […]
- To enrich or fertilize (land, soil, etc.). [O]thers [i.e., rivers] ariſing and running thorovv this Shire, doe ſo batten the ground, that the Medovves euen in the midſt of VVinter grovv greene; […]
- To become better; to improve in condition; especially of animals, by feeding; to fatten up. No, let him batten; when his tongue / Once goes, a cat is not worse strung.
- Of land, soil, etc.: to become fertile; also, of plants: to grow lush.
- Followed by on: to eat greedily; to glut. Could you on this faire Mountaine leaue to feed, / And batten on this Moore?
- Followed by on: to prosper or thrive, especially at the expense of others. Robber barons who battened on the poor
- To gloat at; to revel in.
- To gratify a morbid appetite or craving. [H]opes he may / VVith charmes, like Æson, haue his youth reſtor'd: / And vvith theſe thoughts ſo battens, as if fate / VVould be as eaſily cheated on, as he, / And all turnes aire!
adjective more batten · most batten
- Synonym of battle (“of grass or pasture: nutritious to cattle or sheep; of land (originally pastureland) or soil: fertile, fruitful”). The Soile for the moſt part is lifted vp into many hilles, parted aſunder vvith narrovv and ſhort vallies, and a ſhallovv earth doth couer their out-ſide, vvhich by a Sea-vveede called Orevvood, and a certaine kinde of fruitfull Sea-ſand, they make ſo ranke and batten, as is vncredible.
batten²
- /ˈbæt(ə)n/ UK
- /ˈbætən/ US
- [-ɾən] US
Sounds like baton (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -ætən
Where it comes from
The noun is from Middle English bataunt, batent (“finished bar or board (as for panelling)”), from Old French batent (“a beating”), a noun use of the present participle form of batre (“to beat, hit, strike”), from Late Latin battere, the present active infinitive of battō (“to beat”), from Latin battuō (“(very rare) to beat, hit, strike”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ-, *bʰedʰh₂- (“to pierce; to stab”) or *bʰat- (“to hit”), ultimately onomatopoeic.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun battens · batton
- A plank or strip of wood, or several of such strips arranged side by side, used in construction to hold members of a structure together, to provide a fixing point, to strengthen, or to prevent warping.
- A strip of wood holding a number of lamps; especially (theater), one used for illuminating a stage; (by extension, also attributive) a long bar, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system and used to support curtains, scenery, etc.
- A long, narrow strip, originally of wood but now also of fibreglass, metal, etc., used for various purposes aboard a ship; especially one attached to a mast or spar for protection, one holding down the edge of a tarpaulin covering a hatch to prevent water from entering the hatch, one inserted in a pocket sewn on a sail to keep it flat, or one from which a hammock is suspended. The next morning, we took the battens from the hatches, and opened the ship.
- The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
verb battens · battening · battened
- To furnish (something) with battens (noun etymology 2, noun sense 1).
- Chiefly followed by down: to fasten or secure (a hatch, opening, etc.) using battens (noun etymology 2, noun sense 2.2). Nail down the lid; caulk the seams; pay over the same with pitch; batten them down tight, and hang it with the snap-spring over the ship's stern. Were ever such things done before with a coffin?
Batten³
Where it comes from
English surname, pet form of Batt.
proper noun Battens
- A surname.
