Word Study
batten
CIDE DICTIONARY
batten, v. t. [See Batful.].
- To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. Milton. [1913 Webster]
- To fertilize or enrich, as land. [1913 Webster]
batten, v. i.
To grow fat; to grow fat in ease and luxury; to glut one's self. Dryden. [1913 Webster]
"The pampered monarch lay battening in ease." [1913 Webster]
"Skeptics, with a taste for carrion, who batten on the hideous facts in history, -- persecutions, inquisitions." [1913 Webster]
batten, n. [F. b stick, staff. See Baton.].
A strip of sawed stuff, or a scantling; [1913 Webster]
batten, v. t.
To furnish or fasten with battens. [1913 Webster]
The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
batten, n. & v.
--n.
1 a long flat strip of squared timber or metal, esp. used to hold something in place or as a fastening against a wall etc.
2 a strip of wood used for clamping the boards of a door etc.
3 Naut. a strip of wood or metal for securing a tarpaulin over a ship's hatchway.
--v.tr. strengthen or fasten with battens.
--n.
1 a long flat strip of squared timber or metal, esp. used to hold something in place or as a fastening against a wall etc.
2 a strip of wood used for clamping the boards of a door etc.
3 Naut. a strip of wood or metal for securing a tarpaulin over a ship's hatchway.
--v.tr. strengthen or fasten with battens.
Idiom
batten down the hatches
1 Naut. secure a ship's tarpaulins.
2 prepare for a difficulty or crisis.
1 Naut. secure a ship's tarpaulins.
2 prepare for a difficulty or crisis.
batten, v.intr. (foll. by on) thrive or prosper at another's expense.
Etymology
ON batna get better f. bati advantage
THESAURUS
batten
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