Bathymetry Ba·thym"e·try noun [ Greek ba`qos depth + -metry .] The art or science of sounding, or measuring depths in the sea.

Bating Bat"ing preposition [ Strictly present participle of Bate to abate.] With the exception of; excepting.

We have little reason to think that they bring many ideas with them, bating some faint ideas of hunger and thirst.
Locke.

Batiste Ba·tiste" noun [ French batiste , from the name of the alleged first maker, Baptiste of Cambrai. Littré. ] Originally, cambric or lawn of fine linen; now applied also to cloth of similar texture made of cotton.

Batlet Bat"let noun [ Bat stick + - let .] A short bat for beating clothes in washing them; -- called also batler , batling staff , batting staff . Shak.

Batman Bat"man (băt"măn) noun [ Turk. batman .] A weight used in the East, varying according to the locality; in Turkey, the greater batman is about 157 pounds, the lesser only a fourth of this; at Aleppo and Smyrna, the batman is 17 pounds. Simmonds.

Batman Bat"man (ba"m a n or băt"m a n) noun ; plural Batmen (-m e n). [ French bât packsaddle + English man . Confer Bathorse .] A man who has charge of a bathorse and his load. Macaulay.

Batoidei Ba·toi"de·i noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek ba`tos a kind of ray + -oid .] (Zoology) The division of fishes which includes the rays and skates.

Baton Bat"on (băt"ŭn, F. bä`tôN"; 277) noun [ French bâton . See Baston .] 1. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a field marshal; the baton of a conductor in musical performances.

He held the baton of command.
Prescott.

2. (Her.) An ordinary with its ends cut off, borne sinister as a mark of bastardy, and containing one fourth in breadth of the bend sinister; -- called also bastard bar . See Bend sinister .

Batoon Ba·toon" noun See Baton , and Baston .

Batrachia Ba·tra"chi·a noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek batra`cheios belonging to a frog, from ba`trachos frog.] (Zoology) The order of amphibians which includes the frogs and toads; the Anura. Sometimes the word is used in a wider sense as equivalent to Amphibia.

Batrachian Ba·tra"chi·an adjective (Zoology) Pertaining to the Batrachia. -- noun One of the Batrachia.

Batrachoid Bat"ra·choid adjective [ Batrachia + -oid .] (Zoology) Froglike. Specifically: Of or pertaining to the Batrachidæ , a family of marine fishes, including the toadfish. Some have poisonous dorsal spines.

Batrachomyomachy Bat`ra·cho·my·om"a·chy noun [ Greek batrachomyomachi`a ; ba`trachos frog + my^s mouse + ma`chh battle.] The battle between the frogs and mice; -- a Greek parody on the Iliad, of uncertain authorship.

Batrachophagous Bat`ra·choph"a·gous adjective [ Greek ba`trachos frog + fagei^n to eat.] Feeding on frogs. Quart. Rev.

Batsman Bats"man noun ; plural Batsmen The one who wields the bat in cricket, baseball, etc.

Batta Bat"ta (băt"tȧ) noun [ Prob. through Portuguese for Canarese bhatta rice in the husk.] Extra pay; esp. an extra allowance to an English officer serving in India. Whitworth.

Batta Bat"ta (băt/"tȧ) noun [ Hind. batta .] Rate of exchange; also, the discount on uncurrent coins. [ India]

Battable Bat"ta·ble adjective [ See Batful .] Capable of cultivation; fertile; productive; fattening. [ Obsolete] Burton.

Battailant Bat"tail·ant adjective [ French bataillant , present participle See Battle , intransitive verb ] [ Obsolete] Prepared for battle; combatant; warlike. Spenser. -- noun A combatant. Shelton.

Battailous Bat"tail·ous adjective [ Old French bataillos , from bataille . See Battle , noun ] Arrayed for battle; fit or eager for battle; warlike. [ Obsolete] "In battailous aspect." Milton.

Battalia Bat·tal"ia (băt*tāl"yȧ; 106) noun [ Late Latin battalia battle, a body of troops. See Battle , noun ] 1. Order of battle; disposition or arrangement of troops (brigades, regiments, battalions, etc.), or of a naval force, for action.

A drawing up the armies in battalia .
Jer. Taylor.

2. An army in battle array; also, the main battalia or body. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Battalion Bat·tal"ion (-tăl"yŭn; 106) noun [ French bataillon , from Italian battaglione . See Battalia .] 1. A body of troops; esp. a body of troops or an army in battle array. "The whole battalion views." Milton.

2. (Mil.) A regiment, or two or more companies of a regiment, esp. when assembled for drill or battle.

Battalion Bat·tal"ion transitive verb To form into battalions. [ R.]

Battalion Bat·tal"ion noun (Mil.) An infantry command of two or more companies, which is the tactical unit of the infantry, or the smallest command which is self- supporting upon the battlefield, and also the unit in which the strength of the infantry of an army is expressed.

» In the United States army, since April 29, 1898, a battalion consists of four companies, and three battalions form a regiment. The term is also applied to two or more batteries of artillery combined into a single command.

Battel Bat"tel noun [ Obsolete form. of Battle .] (Old Eng. Law) A single combat; as, trial by battel . See Wager of battel , under Wager .

Battel Bat"tel noun [ Of uncertain etymology.] Provisions ordered from the buttery; also, the charges for them; -- only in the plural , except when used adjectively. [ Univ. of Oxford, Eng.]

Battel Bat"tel intransitive verb To be supplied with provisions from the buttery. [ Univ. of Oxford, Eng.]

Battel Bat"tel transitive verb [ Confer Batful , Batten , intransitive verb ] To make fertile. [ Obsolete] "To battel barren land." Ray.

Battel Bat"tel adjective Fertile; fruitful; productive. [ Obsolete]

A battel soil for grain, for pasture good.
Fairfax.

Batteler, Battler Bat"tel·er, Bat"tler noun [ See 2d Battel , noun ] A student at Oxford who is supplied with provisions from the buttery; formerly, one who paid for nothing but what he called for, answering nearly to a sizar at Cambridge. Wright.

Batten Bat"ten (băt"t'n) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Battened (-t'nd); present participle & verbal noun Battening .] [ See Batful .] 1. To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. " Battening our flocks." Milton.

2. To fertilize or enrich, as land.

Batten Bat"ten intransitive verb 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.

Batten Bat"ten n . [ French bâton stick, staff. See Baton .] A strip of sawed stuff, or a scantling; as, (a) plural (Com. & Arch.) Sawed timbers about 7 by 2 1/2 inches and not less than 6 feet long. Brande & C. (b) (Nautical) 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 (Architecture) , a door made of boards of the whole length of the door, secured by battens nailed crosswise.

Batten Bat"ten transitive verb 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.

Batten Bat"ten noun [ French battant . See Batter , transitive verb ] The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.

Battening Bat"ten·ing noun (Architecture) Furring done with small pieces nailed directly upon the wall.

Batter Bat"ter (băt"tẽr) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Battered (-tẽrd); present participle & verbal noun Battering .] [ Middle English bateren , Old French batre , French battre , from Late Latin battere , for Latin batuere to strike, beat; of unknown origin. Confer Abate , Bate to abate.]

1. To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall or rampart.

2. To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage. "Each battered jade." Pope.

3. (Metallurgy) To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly.

Batter Bat"ter noun [ Middle English batere , batire ; confer Old French bateure , bature , a beating. See Batter , transitive verb ] 1. A semi- liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs, milk, etc., beaten together and used in cookery. King.

2. Paste of clay or loam. Holland.

3. (Printing) A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.

Batter Bat"ter noun A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank; receding slope.

Batter rule , an instrument consisting of a rule or frame, and a plumb line, by which the batter or slope of a wall is regulated in building.

Batter Bat"ter intransitive verb (Architecture) To slope gently backward.

Batter Bat"ter noun One who wields a bat; a batsman.

Batterer Bat"ter·er (-tẽr*ẽr) noun One who, or that which, batters.

Battering train Bat"ter·ing train` (Mil.) A train of artillery for siege operations.

Battering-ram Bat"ter·ing-ram` noun 1. (Mil.) An engine used in ancient times to beat down the walls of besieged places.

» It was a large beam, with a head of iron, which was sometimes made to resemble the head of a ram. It was suspended by ropes to a beam supported by posts, and so balanced as to swing backward and forward, and was impelled by men against the wall. Grose.

2. A blacksmith's hammer, suspended, and worked horizontally.

Battery Bat"ter·y noun ; plural Batteries [ French batterie , from battre . See Batter , transitive verb ] 1. The act of battering or beating.

2. (Law) The unlawful beating of another. It includes every willful, angry and violent, or negligent touching of another's person or clothes, or anything attached to his person or held by him.

3. (Mil.) (a) Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for attack or defense. (b) Two or more pieces of artillery in the field. (c) A company or division of artillery, including the gunners, guns, horses, and all equipments. In the United States, a battery of flying artillery consists usually of six guns.

Barbette battery . See Barbette . -- Battery d'enfilade , or Enfilading battery , one that sweeps the whole length of a line of troops or part of a work. -- Battery en écharpe , one that plays obliquely. -- Battery gun , a gun capable of firing a number of shots simultaneously or successively without stopping to load. -- Battery wagon , a wagon employed to transport the tools and materials for repair of the carriages, etc., of the battery. -- In battery , projecting, as a gun, into an embrasure or over a parapet in readiness for firing. -- Masked battery , a battery artificially concealed until required to open upon the enemy. -- Out of battery , or From battery , withdrawn, as a gun, to a position for loading.

4. (Electricity) (a) A number of coated jars (Leyden jars) so connected that they may be charged and discharged simultaneously. (b) An apparatus for generating voltaic electricity.

» In the trough battery , copper and zinc plates, connected in pairs, divide the trough into cells, which are filled with an acid or oxidizing liquid; the effect is exhibited when wires connected with the two end-plates are brought together. In Daniell's battery , the metals are zinc and copper, the former in dilute sulphuric acid, or a solution of sulphate of zinc, the latter in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A modification of this is the common gravity battery , so called from the automatic action of the two fluids, which are separated by their specific gravities. In Grove's battery , platinum is the metal used with zinc; two fluids are used, one of them in a porous cell surrounded by the other. In Bunsen's or the carbon battery , the carbon of gas coke is substituted for the platinum of Grove's. In Leclanché's battery , the elements are zinc in a solution of ammonium chloride, and gas carbon surrounded with manganese dioxide in a porous cell. A secondary battery is a battery which usually has the two plates of the same kind, generally of lead, in dilute sulphuric acid, and which, when traversed by an electric current, becomes charged, and is then capable of giving a current of itself for a time, owing to chemical changes produced by the charging current. A storage battery is a kind of secondary battery used for accumulating and storing the energy of electrical charges or currents, usually by means of chemical work done by them; an accumulator.

5. A number of similar machines or devices in position; an apparatus consisting of a set of similar parts; as, a battery of boilers, of retorts, condensers, etc.

6. (Metallurgy) A series of stamps operated by one motive power, for crushing ores containing the precious metals. Knight.

7. The box in which the stamps for crushing ore play up and down.

8. (Baseball) The pitcher and catcher together.

Batting Bat"ting noun 1. The act of one who bats; the management of a bat in playing games of ball. Mason.

2. Cotton in sheets, prepared for use in making quilts, etc.; as, cotton batting .

Battle Bat"tle adjective Fertile. See Battel , adjective [ Obsolete]

Battle Bat"tle noun [ Middle English bataille , bataile , French bataille battle, Old French , battle, battalion, from Latin battalia , battualia , the fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, from batuere to strike, beat. Confer Battalia , 1st Battel , and see Batter , transitive verb ] 1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.

2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life.

The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day.
H. Morley.

3. A division of an army; a battalion. [ Obsolete]

The king divided his army into three battles .
Bacon.

The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle , and on it alone depended the fate of every action.
Robertson.

4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [ Obsolete] Hayward.

» Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a self- explaining compound; as, battle brand, a "brand" or sword used in battle; battle cry; battle field; battle ground; battle array; battle song.

Battle piece , a painting, or a musical composition, representing a battle. -- Battle royal . (a) A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that stands longest is the victor. Grose. (b) A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a mêlée. Thackeray. -- Drawn battle , one in which neither party gains the victory. -- To give battle , to attack an enemy. -- To join battle , to meet the attack; to engage in battle. -- Pitched battle , one in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces. -- Wager of battle . See under Wager , noun

Syn. -- Conflict; encounter; contest; action. Battle , Combat , Fight , Engagement . These words agree in denoting a close encounter between contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight . A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or intermingled in the conflict.

Battle Bat"tle (băt"t'l) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Battled (-tl'd); present participle & verbal noun Battling .] [ French batailler , from bataille . See Battle , noun ] To join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories.

To meet in arms, and battle in the plain.
Prior.

Battle Bat"tle transitive verb To assail in battle; to fight.

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