bat

Meaning

Noun

1. Any flying mammal of the order Chiroptera, usually small and nocturnal, insectivorous or frugivorous.
2. (derogatory) An old woman.

Verb

1. (transitive) To hit with a bat or (figuratively) as if with a bat.
2. (intransitive) To take a turn at hitting a ball with a bat in sports like cricket, baseball and softball, as opposed to fielding.
3. (intransitive) To strike or swipe as though with a bat.
4. (UK, dialectal, obsolete) To bate or flutter, as a hawk.

Verb

1. (transitive) To flutter
2. (UK, US, dialectal) To wink.
3. (intransitive, usually) To flit quickly from place to place.

Synonyms

club

stick

cudgel

racket

flying fox

truncheon

racquet

hit

bludgeon

chiropteran

flutter

staff

ghost

👻

devil

clobber

lick

at-bat

lathi

cricket bat

squash racket

war club

squash racquet

thrash

baton

cream

bird

🐦

fruit bat

cane

shillelagh

flap

play

drub

paddle

beat

billy

drive

dike

blink

defeat

blackjack

battery

🔋

dasher

nail

mint

masturbate

batsman

baseball

⚾

mallet

mace

clout

Translations

chauve-souris

🦇

murciélago

🦇

Fledermaus

pipistrello

🦇

vleermuis

🦇

morcego

🦇

νυχτερίδα

yarasa

🦇

muricec

🦇

vespertilio

🦇

batte

خفاش

🦇

Schläger

şevrevînk

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bæt/

Etymology

Cognate with Swedish: natt-batta

Inherited from Middle English: bakke

Inherited from Middle English: bat

Inherited from Old English: batt

Cognate with Old Breton: bath

Cognate with Breton: bazh

Cognate with Latin: battuo

Inherited from Middle English: baten

In summary

Dialectal variant (akin to dialectal Swedish natt-batta) of Middle English bakke, balke, of North Germanic origin. Perhaps compare Old Norse (leðr)blaka (literally “(leather) flapper”), from leðr + blaka (“to flap”).
Compare Old Swedish natbakka, Old Danish nathbakkæ.