Nearby Words
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, especially 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.
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Battened
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Origin:
1585–95; apparently < Old Norse batna to improve; cognate with Gothic gabatnan (bati change for the better + -na infinitive suffix). Compare Old English bet, Gothic batis, Old High German baz better
1585–95; apparently < Old Norse batna to improve; cognate with Gothic gabatnan (bati change for the better + -na infinitive suffix). Compare Old English bet, Gothic batis, Old High German baz better
Dictionary.com Unabridged
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 followed 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).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To battened
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
batten
"to improve, to fatten," 1590s, probably representing a dialectal 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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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