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BATTEN. (1) A term (a form of baton ") used in joinery (q.v.) for a board not more than 4 to 7 in. broad or 3 in. thick, used for various purposes, such as for strengthening or holding together laths and other wood-work; and specially, on board ship, a strip of wood nailed to a mast to prevent rubbing, or fixing down a tarpaulin over a hatchway, in. rough weather, to keep out water. (2) A verb (the root is found in words of several Teutonic languages meaning profit or improvement, and also in the English "better"
' Mr C. A. van Ophuijsen has published (in Bijd. tot Land-, Taal-en Volken-Kunde, 1886) an interesting collection of Battak poetry. He describes a curious leaf language used by Battak lovers, in which the name of some leaf or plant is substituted for the word with which it has greatest phonetic similarity.
and " boot ") meaning to improve in condition, especially in the case of animals by feeding; so, to feed gluttonously; the word is used figuratively of prospering at the expense of another.