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bat·ten¹

(băt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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

bat·ten²

(bătn)

1. Nautical

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

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

2. A narrow strip of wood used in construction, especially to cover a seam between boards, as flooring material, or as a lath.

a. The heavy swinging bar on a loom that holds the reed and is pulled forward to pack down the weft.

b. A flat stick used in weaving by hand to separate the upper and lower threads of the warp and to tighten the weft.

tr.v. bat·tened, bat·ten·ing, bat·tens

Nautical To furnish, fasten, or secure with battens: battened down the hatch during the storm.

Idiom:

batten down the hatches

To prepare for an imminent disaster or emergency.

[Alteration of Middle English batent, finished board or bar of wood, from Old French batant, wooden strip, clapper, from present participle of batre, to beat; see BATTER¹. Noun, sense 3a and b, from French batant, from Old French.]

Bat·ten

(bătn), Jean Gardner 1909-1982.

New Zealand aviator who was the first woman to fly a solo round trip between England and Australia (1935).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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