Etymograph

English

batten

Batten may come from Old Norse batna ‘to grow better, improve, recover’, from Proto-Germanic *bataz ‘good’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰed-1‘good’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bataz2‘good’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*batnaną3‘to become better, improve’uncertain
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350batna3‘to grow better, improve, recover’uncertain
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*battenen3reconstructed
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1588batten3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bataz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *batnaną
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English batten
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588, John Lyly: “No, let him batten; when his tongue / Once…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰed-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bataz‘good’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*batazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *batnaną‘good’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*batnanąWiktionary, English batten‘to become better, improve’uncertain
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350batnaWiktionary, English batten‘to grow better, improve, recover’uncertain
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*battenenWiktionary, English battenreconstructed
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1588battenWiktionary, English batten. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588, John Lyly: “No, let him batten; when his tongue / Once…”

The story

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’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- ‘good’

better, boot, beet, bote, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *bataz ‘good’

battle

Another origin of batten

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰedʰ-‘to pierce’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbattuō‘(very rare) to beat, hit, strike’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbattere
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400batent‘a beating’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bataunt
  6. Englishtodaybatten

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.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The verb is derived from the noun.

Today it means

verb To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding; to fatten.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “batten”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *bataz, Proto-Germanic *batnaną. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- / batten

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