Batters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Hits or strikes something or someone repeatedly with force, often using an object such as a weapon or tool ; mixes ingredients together to form a thick, semi-liquid mixture usually used in cooking or baking
2. Delivers a series of strong blows to a person or object ; combines components into a smooth or lumpy batter for recipes like cakes or pancakes
3. Repeatedly assaults or hits with impact ; stirs and folds ingredients to create a pouring batter for food preparation

Etymology: The plural "batters" is simply the noun "batter" in its plural form, so the story is that of "batter" itself. Its verbal sense is the older one: Middle English "batteren" meant to beat repeatedly, and it was a frequentative formed from "batten" or "baten", "to beat", with the repetitive "-er" ending that turns a single blow into a series of them. In other words, to batter something is to keep on beating it. The cooking sense grew out of that same idea. A batter is what you get when you beat flour, eggs and milk together until they are smooth and fluid, so the kitchen meaning followed from the physical act of beating rather than from any separate root. The noun can also be traced to Old French "bateure", "the action of beating", from "batre", "to beat", which shows that English had two routes to the same concept: a native verb and a borrowed noun that came through French.

Synonyms: mix, dough

Antonyms: settle, solidify