batten
n. countablen. a long, flat piece of wood or metal used to support something. In a boat, it helps hold the planks together, and in a theater, it holds up the lights.
n. a long, flat strip of wood, metal, or plastic used for structural support or as a base for other materials. In nautical contexts, it refers to a horizontal timber that secures the planking of a hull; in theater, it is a metal bar used to suspend lighting instruments.
The carpenter nailed a batten to the wall to hold the shelves.
The shipwright carefully fitted a new batten to ensure the hull remained watertight against the incoming tide.
In the dim light of the backstage area, the technician adjusted the height of the batten to position the spotlight precisely on the lead actor's entrance.
The verb is derived from Middle English battenen, batnen, of North Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse batna (“to grow better, improve, recover”), from Proto-Germanic batnaną (“to become better, improve”) (compare Old Norse bati (“advantage, improvement”), from Proto-Germanic batô (“improvement, recovery”)), from bataz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European bʰed- (“good”). Compare battle (“(adjective) improving; fattening, nutritious; fertile, fruitful; (verb) to feed or nourish; to render (land, etc.) fertile or fruitful”) (obsolete). The adjective is probably derived from the verb. Cognates * Dutch baten (“to avail, benefit, profit”) * Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌽𐌰𐌽 (gabatnan, “to benefit, profit”) * Icelandic batna (“to improve, recover”) * Old English batian (“to get better, recover”)
The noun is from Middle English bataunt, batent (“finished bar or board (as for panelling)”), from Old French batent (“a beating”), a noun use of the present participle form of batre (“to beat, hit, strike”), from Late Latin battere, the present active infinitive of battō (“to beat”), from Latin battuō (“(very rare) to beat, hit, strike”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European bʰedʰ-, bʰedʰh₂- (“to pierce; to stab”) or *bʰat- (“to hit”), ultimately onomatopoeic. The verb is derived from the noun.