释义 |
bat·ten I. \ˈbatən\ verb (battened ; battened ; battening \ˈbat(ə) niŋ\ ; battens) Etymology: probably from Old Norse batna to improve; akin to Old Norse betr better — more at better intransitive verb 1. a. : to grow fat : thrive by feeding < skepticism battening at the vitals of belief — C.J.Rolo > b. : to feed gluttonously : glut oneself — usually used with following on or upon < foreigners who had been battening on the carcass of the peninsula — G.C.Sellery > 2. : to grow prosperous : thrive especially at the expense or to the detriment of another < the pilgrim … was expected to serve the state, not batten on it — Agnes Repplier > transitive verb : to cause to thrive by feeding : fatten < we drove afield … battening our flocks with the fresh dews of night — John Milton > II. noun (-s) Etymology: French bâton stick — more at baton 1. a. : a strip of sawed timber that is usually seven inches wide, less than four inches thick, and more than six feet long and is used especially for flooring — compare board 3a b. dialect England : a deal less than seven inches wide 2. a. : a strip of wood used for nailing across two other pieces (as to hold them together or to cover a crack) b. (1) : a strip usually of wood used to strengthen or to help seal a structure (2) : a reinforcing strip usually of wood attached to the end or base of a box, a barrelhead, or a crate (3) : a piece of wood used to hold and strengthen loads in freight handling 3. a. : a strip of light wood sewed into a ship's sail at approximately right angles to the leech to make it set flat b. : an iron bar used to stretch and hold a tarpaulin over the hatch covers or gratings of a ship c. : a strip of wood nailed or clamped around the edges of the covering of a ship's hatchway to hold it in place d. : a strip of wood used to keep cargo away from the steel hull of a ship or to prevent it from shifting — see ship illustration 4. : a stripped log less than 11 inches in diameter at the small end 5. a. : a thin strip usually of wood used in fairing a ship's lines in the mold loft b. : a thin strip usually of wood used as an auxiliary for reference or measurement in erecting structures during the building of a ship or in setting up a dry dock to receive a ship 6. a. : a length of wood or pipe suspended from the gridiron and used to support the scenery or lighting instruments in a theater b. : a strip of lumber usually 1×3 inches used in the construction of stage scenery c. : a strip of wood fastened to the top and bottom of a stage drop III. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) transitive verb 1. : to furnish with battens < the wall had to be battened > 2. : to fasten by or as if by means of battens — often used with down < had battened down his hatches long before the first gale winds began to blow — Bennett Cerf > intransitive verb : to make oneself secure by or as if by battens — often used with down < we battened down at the first hurricane warning > IV. noun (-s) Etymology: origin unknown dialect England : a bundle of straw V. noun (-s) Etymology: French battant, from present participle of battre to beat — more at bat : the movable bar carrying the reed of a loom that strikes home each filling thread as it is interlaced with the warp by the passage of the shuttle VI. dialect variant of batting |