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bate¹

(bāt)

tr.v. bat·ed, bat·ing, bates

1. To lessen the force or intensity of; moderate: "To his dying day he bated his breath a little when he told the story" (George Eliot). See Usage Note at bait¹.

2. To take away; subtract.

[Middle English baten, short for abaten; see ABATE.]

bate² also bait

(bāt)

intr.v. bat·ed, bat·ing, bates also bait·ed or bait·ing or baits

To flap the wings wildly or frantically. Used of a falcon.

[Middle English baten, from Old French batre, to beat; see BATTER¹.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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