batten 2. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

batten²

SYLLABICATION:	bat·ten
PRONUNCIATION:	btn
NOUN:	1. Nautical a. One of several flexible strips of wood or plastic placed in pockets at the outer edge of a sail to keep it flat. b. A narrow strip of wood used to fasten down the edges of the material that covers hatches in foul weather. 2. Chiefly British A narrow strip of wood used especially for flooring.
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: bat·tened, bat·ten·ing, bat·tens Nautical To furnish, fasten, or secure with battens: battened down the hatch during the storm.
IDIOM:	batten down the hatches To prepare for an imminent disaster or emergency.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English batent, from Old French bataunt, wooden strip, clapper, from present participle of batre, to beat. See batter¹.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.