| 释义 |
batten1 /batˈən/ noun- A piece of sawn timber used for flooring, support of laths, etc
- A strip of wood fastened across parallel boards, or used to fasten down hatches aboard ship, etc
- A row of electric lamps or a strip of wood carrying them
transitive verb To fasten or furnish with battens ORIGIN: baton battˈening noun Battens forming a structure batten down the hatches - To prepare for a crisis
- Orig to secure the hatches on a ship against bad weather
batten2 /batˈən/ intransitive verb- To thrive at the expense of (with on)
- To grow fat
- To feed abundantly (on; lit and figurative)
transitive verb (obsolete)To fatten ORIGIN: ON batna to grow better, from bati advantage; cf Du baten to avail |