Batten
Batten (bat"t'n) , transitive verb
[See Batful.]
1.
To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten.
Battening our flocks.
2.
To fertilize or enrich, as land.
Batten , 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.
Skeptics, with a taste for carrion, who batten on the hideous facts in history, -- persecutions, inquisitions.
Batten , noun
[French bâton stick, staff. See Baton.]
(Commerce & Architecture) A strip of sawed stuff, or a scantling;
(a)
(Commerce & Architecture) Sawed timbers about 7 by 2 1/2 inches and not less than 6 feet long.
(b)
(Commerce & Architecture) A strip of wood used in fastening the edges of a tarpaulin to the deck, also around masts to prevent chafing.
(c)
(Commerce & Architecture) A long, thin strip used to strengthen a part, to cover a crack, etc. — Brande & C
Collocations (1)
Batten door (Architecture) , a door made of boards of the whole length of the door, secured by battens nailed crosswise.
Batten , transitive verb
To furnish or fasten with battens.
Collocations (1)
To batten down , to fasten down with battens, as the tarpaulin over the hatches of a ship during a storm.
Batten , noun
[French battant. See Batter, transitive verb]
The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.