Bat"ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battered (); p. pr. & vb. n. Battering.] [OE. bateren, OF. batre, F. battre, fr. LL. battere, for L. batuere to strike, beat; of unknown origin. Cf. Abate, Bate to abate.]
1.
To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall or rampart.
2.
To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage.
"Each
battered jade."
Pope.
3. Metallurgy
To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly.
© Webster 1913.
Bat"ter, n. [OE. batere, batire; cf. OF. bateure, bature, a beating. See Batter, v. t.]
1.
A semi-liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs, milk, etc. , beaten together and used in cookery.
King.
2.
Paste of clay or loam.
Holland.
3. Printing
A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.
© Webster 1913.
Bat"ter, n.
A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank; receding slope.
Batter rule, an instrument consisting of a rule or frame, and a plumb line, by which the batter or slope of a wall is regulated in building.
© Webster 1913.
Bat"ter, v. i. Arch.
To slope gently backward.
© Webster 1913.
Bat"ter, n.
One who wields a bat; a batsman.
© Webster 1913.