Bat Definition
- Taking one's turn to bat, as in baseball or cricket.
- To give assistance to; defend.
- Without hesitation; immediately:
They responded right off the bat.
- To behave in an eccentric, bizarre manner.
- To show no emotion; appear unaffected:
The reporter didn't bat an eyelash while reading the gruesome news.
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Bat
- at bat
- go to bat for
- right off the bat
- have bats in (one's) belfry
- not bat an eye
- at bat
- bat around
- bat out
- go to bat for
- (right) off the bat
- blind as a bat
- have bats in the belfry
- not bat an eye
Origin of Bat
Dialectal variant (akin to the dialectal Swedish term natt-batta) of Middle English bakke, balke, from Scandinavian (compare Old Swedish natbakka, Old Danish nathbakkæ (literally “night-flapper”), Old Norse leðrblaka (literally “leather-flapper”)).
From Wiktionary
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French bât, from Old French bast, from Vulgar Latin *bastum, form of *bastāre (“to carry”), from Late Greek *bastân, from Ancient Greek βαστάζω (bastázō, “to lift, carry”).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English perhaps partly of Celtic origin and partly from Old French batte pounding implement, flail (from batre to beat batter1)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Alteration of Middle English bakke of Scandinavian origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Probably from batter spree
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Probably a variant of bate
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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Possibly a variant of bate.
From Wiktionary
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Cognate to baton.
From Wiktionary
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Old English batt
From Wiktionary
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