batten
(noun) a strip fixed to something to hold it firm
batting, batten
(noun) stuffing made of rolls or sheets of cotton wool or synthetic fiber
batten
(verb) secure with battens; “batten down a ship’s hatches”
batten, batten down, secure
(verb) furnish with battens; “batten ships”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
batten (third-person singular simple present battens, present participle battening, simple past and past participle battened)
(intransitive) To become better; improve in condition, especially by feeding.
(intransitive, figurative) To feed (on); to revel (in).
(intransitive) To thrive by feeding; grow fat; feed oneself gluttonously.
(intransitive) To thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others; fare sumptuously.
(intransitive) To gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat.
(transitive) To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive due to plenteous feeding.
(transitive) To fertilize or enrich, as land.
batten (plural battens)
A thin strip of wood used in construction to hold members of a structure together or to provide a fixing point.
(nautical) A long strip of wood, metal, fibreglass etc, used for various purposes aboard ship, especially one inserted in a pocket sewn on the sail in order to keep the sail flat.
In stagecraft, a long pipe, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system in a theater.
The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
batten (third-person singular simple present battens, present participle battening, simple past and past participle battened)
To furnish with battens.
(nautical) To fasten or secure a hatch etc using battens.
Batten (plural Battens)
A surname.
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Batten is the 4597th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 7716 individuals. Batten is most common among White (84.78%) and Black/African American (10.85%) individuals.
Source: Wiktionary
Bat"ten, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battened (p. pr. & vb. n. Battening.] Etym: [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.
Definition: 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.
Bat"ten, n . Etym: [F. b stick, staff. See Baton.]
Definition: A strip of sawed stuff, or a scantling; as, (a) pl. (Com. & Arch.) Sawed timbers about 7 by 2 1/2 inches and not less than 6 feet long. Brande & C. (b) (Naut.) A strip of wood used in fastening the edges of a tarpaulin to the deck, also around masts to prevent chafing. (c) A long, thin strip used to strengthen a part, to cover a crack, etc. Batten door (Arch.), a door made of boards of the whole length of the door, secured by battens nailed crosswise.
Bat"ten, v. t.
Definition: To furnish or fasten with battens. To batten down, to fasten down with battens, as the tarpaulin over the hatches of a ship during a storm.
Bat"ten, n. Etym: [F. battant. See Batter, v. t.]
Definition: The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
28 November 2024
(noun) the fusion of originally different inflected forms (resulting in a reduction in the use of inflections)
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
