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bat³

(băt)

tr.v. bat·ted, bat·ting, bats

To wink or flutter: bat one's eyelashes.

Idiom:

not bat an eye/eyelash Informal

To show no emotion; appear unaffected: The reporter didn't bat an eyelash while reading the gruesome news.

[Probably a variant of BATE².]

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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