释义 |
bate I. \ˈbāt, usu -d.+V\ verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English baten, short for abaten to abate (beat down) transitive verb 1. : to reduce the force or intensity of : moderate, restrain < he bated his breath > 2. : to take away : deduct, subtract < that grave and orderly senior was not going to bate a jot of his dignity — George Eliot > 3. archaic : to lower especially in amount or estimation : diminish, lessen < and I shall have to bate my price — A.E.Housman > 4. archaic : to make dull the point or edge of : blunt < and now I have bated your curiosity — J.F.Cooper > 5. : to leave out of consideration : except, omit < bating their jewels … I would not give three sous — Laurence Sterne > 6. archaic : deprive < when baseness is exalted do not bate the place its honor for the person's sake — George Herbert > intransitive verb dialect : to fall off : diminish, decrease < the wind is bating > II. intransitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English baten, from Middle French batre to beat, from Latin battere, battuere — more at bat of a falcon : to beat the wings suddenly : flutter wildly downward from the fist or perch III. noun (-s) Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish beta to macerate; akin to Old High German beiza maceration — more at bait : a bath used by tanners after liming to remove the lime and soften the hides — compare puer IV. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) : to steep (as hides) in bate V. variant of bait 5 VI. variant of bete VII. dialect Britain past of bite |