to thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, esp. at the expense of others: robber barons who battened on the poor.
–verb (used with object)
4.
to cause to thrive by or as if by feeding; fatten.
[Origin: 1585–95; appar. < ON batna to improve; c. Goth gabatnan (bati change for the better + -na inf. suffix). Compare OE bet, Goth batis, OHG baz better]
a small board or strip of wood used for various building purposes, as to cover joints between boards, reinforce certain doors, or supply a foundation for lathing.
2.
a transverse iron or steel strip supporting the flooring strips of a metal fire escape.
3.
Nautical.
a.
a thin strip of wood inserted in a sail to keep it flat.
b.
a thin, flat length of wood or metal used for various purposes, as to hold the tarpaulin covering a hatch in place.
4.
Shipbuilding. a flexible strip of wood used for fairing the lines of a hull on the floor of a mold loft.
5.
Theater.
a.
Also called pipe batten.a length of metal pipe hung from the gridiron, for suspending scenery or equipment, as drops, flats, or lighting units.
b.
a narrow strip of lumber for constructing, reinforcing, or joining flats.
c.
a similar strip attached to a drop to keep it flat or taut.
–verb (used with object)
6.
to furnish or bolster with battens.
7.
Nautical. to cover (a hatch) so as to make watertight (usually fol. by down).
8.
Machinery. to secure (work) to a table or bed for a machining operation.
9.
Building Trades. to join or assemble (a steel column or the like) with batten plates.
10.
Theater.
a.
to suspend (scenery, stage lights, etc.) from a batten.
b.
to fasten a batten to (a flat or drop).
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME bataunt, batent finished board < OF batant, n. use of ptp. of batre to beat; see bate2, -ant]
To thrive and prosper, especially at another's expense: "[She] battens like a leech on the lives of famous people, . . . a professional retailer of falsehoods"(George F. Will).
v.
tr.
To fatten; overfeed.
[Ultimately from Old Norse batna, to improve; see bhad- in Indo-European roots.]
Bas"ton\, n. [OF. baston, F. b[^a]ton, LL. basto. See Bastion, and cf. Baton, and 3d Batten.]1. A staff or cudgel. [Obs.] "To fight with blunt bastons." --Holland. 2. (Her.) See Baton. 3. An officer bearing a painted staff, who formerly was in attendance upon the king's court to take into custody persons committed by the court. --Mozley & W.
Bat"ful\, a. [Icel. bati amelioration, batna to grow better; akin to AS. bet better. Goth. ga-batnan to profit. ?255. Cf. Batten, v. i., Better.] Rich; fertile. [Obs.] "Batful valleys." --Drayton.
Bat"ten\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Battening.] [See Batful.]1. To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. "Battening our flocks." --Milton. 2. To fertilize or enrich, as land.
Bat"ten\, v. i. To grow fat; to grow fat in ease and luxury; to glut one's self. --Dryden. The pampered monarch lay battening in ease. --Garth. Skeptics, with a taste for carrion, who batten on the hideous facts in history, -- persecutions, inquisitions. --Emerson.
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