batten

Etymology 1

From Middle English *battenen, *batnen, of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse batna (“to grow better, improve, recover”), from Proto-Germanic *batnaną (“to become good, get better”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- (“good”). Cognate with Icelandic batna (“to improve, recover”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌽𐌰𐌽 (gabatnan, “to be noteful, profit, boot”), Dutch baten (“to avail, profit, benefit”), Old English batian (“to get better, recover”). More at better.

verb

1. (intransitive) To become better; improve in condition, especially by feeding.
2. (intransitive, figurative) To feed (on); to revel (in).
3. (intransitive) To thrive by feeding; grow fat; feed oneself gluttonously.
   The pampered monarch lay battening in ease. 1699, Samuel Garth, The Dispensary
4. (intransitive) To thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others; fare sumptuously.
   Robber barons who battened on the poor
   The densest webs are in Tel Aviv and New York. It is from there, via their venal henchmen in Washington, London, Berlin, etc. that the fattest spiders batten on the misery of a large part of the world's population. 2015, Gerard Menuhin, Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
5. (intransitive) To gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat.
6. (transitive) To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive due to plenteous feeding.
7. (transitive) To fertilize or enrich, as land.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bataunt, batent (“finished board”), from Old French batent (“beating”).

noun

1. A thin strip of wood used in construction to hold members of a structure together or to provide a fixing point.
2. (nautical) A long strip of wood, metal, fibreglass etc., used for various purposes aboard ship, especially one inserted in a pocket sewn on the sail in order to keep the sail flat.
3. (theater) In stagecraft, a long pipe, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system in a theater.
4. The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.

verb

1. To furnish with battens.
2. (nautical) To fasten or secure a hatch etc using battens.