Where does “batter” come from?
Batter comes from English bate, which derives from abate, ultimately tracing through Latin ab- and ad- prefixes combined with Latin -āre verb endings and Latin manus meaning hand, with roots extending to Ancient Greek βῆτα.
batter (English): To hit or strike violently and repeatedly; To...
Definitions
- To hit or strike violently and repeatedly; To...
Ancestry of “batter”, step by step
batter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English bature
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bature | A runny fluid made of beat ingredients; batter, paste |
| 2 | Old French | bateure | beating |
| 3 | Old French | eure | Alternative form of ore |
| 4 | Latin | hora | hour; time; o'clock |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ὥρα | any defined period of time; season; climate |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | *worā | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |