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batten

 - 9 dictionary results

bat⋅ten

1  [bat-n]
Use batten in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to thrive by feeding; grow fat.
2. to feed gluttonously or greedily; glut oneself.
3. 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

bat⋅ten

2  [bat-n]
–noun
1. 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 bate 2 , -ant

Related forms:
bat⋅ten⋅er, noun

bat⋅ten

3  [bat-n] Textiles.
–noun
1. (in a loom) the swinging frame for holding and positioning the reed.
2. a part of the lay of a loom.
–verb (used with object)
3. to beat (filling yarn) into place with the batten.
Origin:
1825–35; alter. of F battant; see batten 1

Bat⋅ten

  [bat-n]
–noun
Jean (“The Garbo of the Skies”), 1909–82, New Zealand aviator: first woman to make solo round-trip flight between England and Australia, 1934–35.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To batten
bat·ten 1   (bāt'n)   
v.   bat·tened, bat·ten·ing, bat·tens

v.   intr.

  1. To become fat.

  2. 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.]
bat·ten 2   (bāt'n)   
n.  

  1. Nautical

    1. One of several flexible strips of wood or plastic placed in pockets at the outer edge of a sail to keep it flat.

    2. A narrow strip of wood used to fasten down the edges of the material that covers hatches in foul weather.

  2. Chiefly British A narrow strip of wood used especially for flooring.

tr.v.   bat·tened, bat·ten·ing, bat·tens
Nautical To furnish, fasten, or secure with battens: battened down the hatch during the storm.

[Middle English batent, from Old French bataunt, wooden strip, clapper, from present participle of batre, to beat; see batter1.]
Bat·ten   (bāt'n)   
New Zealand aviator who was the first woman to fly a solo round trip between England and Australia (1935).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

batten  (n.)
"strip of wood (especially used to fasten canvas over ships' hatches)," 1658, Anglicized version of baton "a stick, a staff" (q.v.).

batten  (v.)
"to fatten," 1591, probably representing a dial. survival of O.N. batna "improve" (cf. O.E. batian, O.Fris. batia, O.H.G. bazen, Goth. gabatnan "to become better, avail, benefit," O.E. bet "better;" cf. also boot (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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