Where does “batten” come from?
Batten comes from Middle English bataunt, from Old Norse batna, from Proto-Germanic batnaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰed- with the suffix -néh₂-.
batten (English): To become better; improve in condition,...
Definitions
- To become better; improve in condition,...
Ancestry of “batten”, step by step
batten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English bataunt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bataunt | — |
| 2 | Old French | batent | beating |
| 3 | Old French | batre | to beat; to hit; to strike |
| 4 | Latin | battō | to beat att. from 2nd c. CE |
| 5 | Latin | battuō | to beat, hit, pound, beat up, strike |
via English batt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | batt | Pieces of fabric or fibre used for stuffing; as... |
| 2 | Old English | batt | bat, club, cudgel |
Words derived from “batten”