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batten

verb
/ˈbæt(ə)n/UK/ˈbætən/US

Etymology

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”)

  1. derived from *bʰed-✻ — “good”
  2. derived from *batnaną✻ — “to become better, improve”
  3. derived from batna — “to grow better, improve, recover”
  4. inherited from *battenen✻

Definitions

  1. To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding

    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, […]

  2. 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; […]

  3. To become better

    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.
    • Like enough, Sir, ſhee'll doe forty ſuch things in an houre (an you liſten to her) for her recreation, if the toy take her i'the greaſie kerchiefe: it makes her fat you ſee. Shee battens vvith it.
    • VVe eate our ovvne, and batten more, / Becauſe vve feed on no mans ſcore: / But pitie thoſe vvhoſe flanks grovv great, / Svvel'd vvith the Lard of others meat.
  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. Of land, soil, etc.

      Of land, soil, etc.: to become fertile; also, of plants: to grow lush.

    2. Followed by on

      Followed by on: to eat greedily; to glut.

      • Could you on this faire Mountaine leaue to feed, / And batten on this Moore?
      • Follovv your Function, go, and batten on colde bits.
      • As at full length the pamper'd Monarch lay, / Batt'ning in eaſe, and ſlumbring Life avvay / A ſpightful noiſe his dovvny Chains unties, / Haſtes forvvard, and encreaſes as it flies.

    3. To gloat at

      To gloat at; to revel in.

    4. 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!

    5. Synonym of battle (“of grass or pasture

      Synonym of battle (“of grass or pasture: nutritious to cattle or sheep; of land (originally pastureland) or soil: fertile, fruitful”).

    6. A plank or strip of wood, or several of such strips arranged side by side, used in…

      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.

    7. A strip of wood holding a number of lamps

      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.

    8. A long, narrow strip, originally of wood but now also of fibreglass, metal, etc., used…

      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.
      • She was too sick to get out of bed, and he was not able to hoist her up without assistance; […] we were permitted to come in and hoist her ladyship up again to the battens.

    9. The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.

    10. To furnish (something) with battens (noun etymology 2, noun sense 1).

    11. Chiefly followed by down

      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?

    12. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for batten. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA