|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
battledore
battledore a wooden paddle-shaped implement formerly used in washing clothes for beating and stirring; the word then came to denote the small racket used in the game of battledore and shuttlecock, the forerunner of badminton.
The word is recorded from Middle English, and may come ultimately from Provençal batedor ‘beater’. not know a B from a battledore be completely illiterate or ignorant; the saying is based on the resemblance in shape of a battledore to a horn-book, from which children traditionally learned to read. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "battledore." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "battledore." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-battledore.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "battledore." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-battledore.html |
|
battledore
battledore wooden implement for washing, etc. XV; bat used with a shuttlecock XVI. perh. — Pr. batedor beater, f. batre beat, infl. by †battle vb. (XVI), f. BAT1 vb., but the history is obscure.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "battledore." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "battledore." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-battledore.html T. F. HOAD. "battledore." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-battledore.html |
|
battledore
battledore
•jackdaw • battledore
•landau, Landor
•chador • vendor • humidor • lobster thermidor • cuspidor • corridor
•stevedore • Isidore • condor
•stormdoor • Sodor • Theodore
•toreador • troubadour • picador
•commodore • parador • Labrador
•matador • conquistador • Salvador
•Ecuador
|
|
|
Cite this article
"battledore." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "battledore." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-battledore.html "battledore." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-battledore.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
.%2BYoung%2BGirl%2Bwith%2BBattledore%2Band%2BShuttlecock.%2B(2).jpg "Click to see an enlarged picture")
