Bathymasteridae 
Bathymasteridse (bath"i-mas-ter'i-de), n. //I. 
[NL., < Batliymaster + -iiUc.] A family of acan- 
thopterygiau fishes, represented by the genus 
Bathymaster, and scarcely distinct from Latili- 
ila' (which see). 
bathymeter (ba-thim'e-ter), n. [< Gr. fiaOhf, 
deep, + JU:T/X>V, a measure.] An instrument 
for taking soundings at sea. 
bathymetric fbath-i-mefrik), a. [< batlii/un- 
try T -ic.] Pertaining to bathymetry or tho 
measurement of depths, especially at sea. 
Bathymetric zone, in :""//".'/. . one of the horizontal 
lielts of the depths of the sea vertically separated by their 
characteristic fauna and flora. Five such zones are reek 
oned: (1) the littoral, between tide-marks; (2) the lami- 
narian, from low water to about 15 fathoms; (3) the 
coralline, from that to about 60 fathoms; (4) the defp-aea, 
from that to about 300; (5) the abyssal, from that to the 
lowest depths. 
bathymetrical (bath-i-met'ri-kal), </. Same as 
bathymetrically (bath-i-met'ri-kal-i), adv. As 
regards bathymetry ; by deep-sea measurement 
or sounding. 
bathymetry (ba-thim'e-tri), n. [< Gr. ,3o0t'c, 
deep, + -iierpia, < fierpov, a measure.] The art 
of sounding or of measuring depths in the sea. 
bathyphon (bath'i-fon), n. A musical instru- 
ment of the clarinet class, having a single 
reed and a wooden tube, and a compass of 
nearly three octaves from the third D below 
middle C. It was invented in 1829 in Berlin, 
but was soon supplanted by the tuba. 
Bathythrissa (bath-i-thris'ii), n. [NL., < Gr. 
flaffi-f, deep, + Oplaaa, Attic Bpirra, a certain fish, 
otherwise called rpixiat, < 6pi% (rptx-), hair.] 
The typical genus of the family Bathythrissidce, 
containing one known species (Bathythrissa 
dorsalis) of deep-water fishes with some resem- 
blance to a herring or whitefish, found off the 
coast of Japan. 
Bathythrissidae (bath-i-thris'i-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Bathythrissa + -ida;.] A family of malacop- 
terygian fishes, typified by the genus Bathy- 
thrissa. They have an oblong body and rounded abdo- 
men, covered with cycloid scales ; the margin of the upper 
jaw formed by the intermaxillaries mesially and by the 
maxillaries laterally ; complete opercular apparatus ; very 
elongate dorsal flu ; a short anal I'm ; the stomach with a 
blind sac; numerous pyloric appendages; and ductless 
ovaries. 
batiator-root (bat'i-a-tpr-rot"), n. The root of 
an undetermined Brazilian plant, used as an 
emetic and in dysentery. 
Batides (bat'i-dez), n. pi. [NL., pi. of Batis (a 
genus of fishes), < Gr. /Jan'c, a flat fish, perhaps 
the skate or ray.] The rays, as an order of 
selachians. L. Agassiz. See Itaiai. 
bating 1 (ba'ting), n. [Verbal n. of bate 1 , v.] 
The act of beating the wings; fluttering; flut- 
tering away. 
bating 2 (ba'ting), prep. [Orig. ppr. of bate 2 , 
for abate; now regarded as a prep.] Abating; 
taking away; deducting; excepting. 
Bating the outward respect due to his birth, they treat- 
ed him [the Prince of Condi] very hardly in all his preten- 
sions. Bp. But-net, Hist. Own Times, an. 1677. 
bating 3 (ba'ting), n. [Verbal n. of bate 5 , v.] 
The process of steeping hides and skins in 
an alkaline bath, to separate the lime, oil, and 
glutinous matter, and render them soft and 
pliable, and fit for tanning. 
batiste (ba-tesf), n. [< F. batiste, < OF. bap- 
tiste; so called, it is said, from its inventor, 
one Baptiste, a linen-weaver of Cambrai (see 
cambric) in French Flanders.] A fine linen 
cloth made in Flanders and Picardy, of three dif- 
ferent kinds or thicknesses ; a kind of cambric. 
batler 1 */ (bat'ler), n. [Appar. for battler 2 , q. v. 
Found only in Shakspere, with a var. batlet.] A 
small bat or beetle for beating clothes in wash- 
ing; a clothes-pounder. Also called batlet, bat- 
tler, battril. 
I remember the kissing of her batter [so in early edi- 
tions, but in most modern editions batlet], and the cow's 
dugs that her pretty chopped hands had milked. 
Shak., As you Like it, ii. 4. 
batler 2 t. See batteler. 
batlett (bat'let), n. [< bat 1 + dim. -let ; but 
perhaps an error for batler 1 , q. v.] Same as 
batter 1 . 
batman 1 (bat'- or ba'man), n. ; pi. batmen 
(-men). [Formerly also "bateman; < bat* (F. 
bdt), a pack-saddle, + man.] A person al- 
lowed by the government to every company of 
a regiment on foreign service. His duty is to take 
charge of the cooking utensils, etc., of the company. 
There is in the charge of the batman a bathorse for each 
company to convey the cooking utensils from place to 
place. Imp. Diet. (Great Britain.] 
batman'-' (bat'man), n. [= Russ. batmanu, < 
Turk, batman, batman, a weight, the same as 
475 
the Pers. ;</ : sec ///</-.] A Turkish weight 
varying in amount in different localities, i h 
li:it!n;tii formerly legal throughout the empire, now used 
in t'ntistantinople and Smyrna, is 17 poumls avuinlupoi- 
The great batman of Constantinople is J.. r , ponmls; tin- 
little batman is .. ii pounds. The batman of Tabriz is 6.4 
IMHimls : tin- batman of Shiraz is lti.7 pounds ; tin 1 batman- 
rei of Tehrran i> >.:; pounds. 
bat-money, baw-money (bat'- or ba'-, ba'- 
inun'i), n. [< bat* + money.'] Money paid to 
a batman. 
batoid (bat'oid), a. and n. [< fiafb(gWMU 
of fishes) + -o/rf.] I. a. Of or pertaining to the 
Batoidei. 
II. n. One of the Batoidei. 
Batoidei (ba-toi'de-i), n. pi. [NL., < Batis (a 
genus of fishes) + -oideus, pi. -oidei.] In ( liin- 
ther's system of classification, a suborder <>( 
plagiostomatous fishes having ventral gill- 
openings : synonymous with Raice. 
BatolitCS (bat-o-li'tez), n. [NL., < F. Mton, a 
staff (see baton), + Gr. /iflof, a stone.] A genus 
of straight cylindrical bivalve fossil shells, al- 
lied to the hippurites. Some are of great length, 
and form masses of rock in the high Alps. Also 
written Batolithes and Batolithus. 
batologist (ba-tol'o-jist), n. [< "batoloi/ :i (< 
Gr. /farof, a bramble-bush, + -Aoyi'a, < ttyetv, 
speak: see -ology) + -int.] A botanist who hus 
made a special study of the genus Rubus, or I he 
brambles, the numerous European species of 
which are very variable and exceedingly diffi- 
cult to determine. 
baton (bat'on, ba-ton', or, as F., ba-t6n'), n. 
[This word" appears in E. in various forms ; 
first as boston (< OF. boston = Sp. bastoit = 
Pg. bastHo = It. bastone, < ML. basto(n~), a stick, 
staff, of unknown origin), then baton (< F. ba- 
ton), with accent on first syllable, also spelled 
batton and batten (see batten 2 ), and with F. ac- 
cent baton', also spelled batoon, battoon (see 
batoon), and recently, esp. in the musical use, 
S renounced as F. : see boston, battoon. batten 2 .] 
. A staff or club; a truncheon: carried either 
(a) for use as a weapon, as a policeman's bat- 
on; (6) as a mark of authority, as the baton of 
a field-marshal; or (c) as a warrant to do 
something, as the baton or staff carried in 
Great Britain by the engineer of a train on a 
single-track railway, as his authority to pro- 
ceed. 2. In music : (a) The stick or wand used 
by the leader of a chorus or an orchestra in di- 
recting the performance. 
When I went home I made myself a baton, and went 
about the fields conducting an orchestra. Ditkens. 
(6) A rest of two or more measures. 3. In 
her., same as baston, 1 (c). 
Also spelled batton. 
To Wield a good baton, to conduct a musical perform- 
ance well, 
baton (bat'on), v. t. [< baton, n.] To strike 
with a baton ; cudgel. 
baton-crOSS (bat'on-kr6s), . In her., same as 
cross potent (which see, under cross 1 ). 
batoont (ba-ton'), n. [An older form of baton, 
<.F. baton: see baton.] 1. A club or truncheon ; 
a baton. 
Although his shoulders with batoon 
He claw'd and cudgell'd to some tune. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, II. it 710. 
2. A staff of office. See&otoH, 1. 3. In her., 
same as baston, 1 (c). 4. In arch., same as 
baston, 2. 
bat-printing (bat'prin'ting), n. In ceram., a 
mode of printing patterns in color upon glazed 
ware. An engraving on copper is made with fine lines, 
from which an impression is taken in linseed-oil on a thin 
slabof gelatin. This impression is transferred to the glazed 
ware, and over it is then dusted a metallic color which 
clings to the oil, and is afterward melted and fixed by fir- 
ins;. See ixrti, 13. 
Batrachia (ba-tra'ki-a), n. pi. [NL., prop. 
Batrachia, < Gr. paTpaxcta, neut. pi. (sc. fya, 
animals) of /Jarpa^etof, frog-like, < /Jarpa^of, a 
frog, with numerous dialectic variants, (idpanof, 
Pparaxof, ftpAraxof, pfopaxof, Bf^ftjfti W**fi 
/)dt)paKo(, etc., indicating an imitative origin.] 
1 . Formerly, as in Cuvier's system of classifica- 
tion, an order of reptiles, containing the frogs, 
toads, newts, salamanders, etc., and coexten- 
sive with the modern class Amphibia ; the am- 
phibians, or those vertebrates which breathe 
at first by gills, and then, generally, lose the 
gills and breathe by lungs. 2. Now, an order 
of Amphibia, synonymous with Anura 2 (which 
see), containing the frogs and toads only, or 
those amphibians which lose the tail as well as 
the gills. The leading families are the Pipidtr, or Suri- 
nam toads ; the Ranidff, frogs ; the Bufonidff. ordinary 
toads ; and the Uylida, tree-frogs. See cut under Anum. 
batster 
batrachian (bn-tnVki-un), n. and ii. [_<. llatra- 
cliia + -tin.] I. n. Of or pertaining to the Bti- 
trni-hiit, especially frogs and toads. 
Tin- tatraeMon hymni from tin- nriuhboring swamp. 
il. H'. llnlinrx, Autocrat, ix. 
II. n. flue i,f I lie ll'itrni-lii'l. 
batrachid (but'r;i-kidj. /. A fish of the family 
Balrackidtr. 
Batrachidae (ba-trak'i-iei, . /./. [NL., < />- 
trnc/iii!; + -iiln:] A family of acanthopterygian 
lislies, typified by the genus Hntriirhiix, with un- 
armed cheeks, a dorsal fin developed and com- 
posed of a few sharp spines, and jugular and 
imperfect ventral fins. The -p. . -i,-* an- mostly inhabi- 
tants of subtropical or temperate seas, and are known In 
North America as t<m<l-rixhf*. S< < <nt ntxii r tiiaii-Jih. 
batrachite (bat'nt-kit), . [< L. batrachites, < 
Gr. ffarpaxlrr/r, a frog-green stone, < /<ar/j^oc, a 
frog.] 1. A fossil or stone in color resembling 
a frog; toadstone. 2. A mineral identical 
with the Vi'snvian monticellite (which see), be- 
longing to the chrysolite group. 
batrachoid (bat'ra-koid), a. [< Gr. 'Barpaxott- 
I'li/r, eontr. liar/iaxu^'K, frog-like, < flarpaxor, a 
frog, + fMof, form.] Having the form of a 
frog; pertaining to the Batrachia. 
batracholite (ba-trak'o-lit), n. [< Gr. pdrpaxoi;. 
a frog, + >Mo(, a stone.'] A fossil batrachian. 
batrachomyomachy (bat*ra-ko-mi-om'a-ki), . 
' ' 
. 
name of a mock-heroic poem traditionally as- 
cribed to Homer, < /"Jarpa^of, a frog, + /*i>c, = 
E. mouse, + uaxn, a battle.] A battle between 
the frogs and mice ; specifically (cap.), the title 
of an ancient Greek parody on the Iliad. 
batrachophagous (bat-ra-kof 'a-gus), a. [< Gr. 
parpaxof, a frog, + <j>ayeiv, eat.] Feeding on 
frogs ; frog-eating ; ranivorous. 
Batrachophidia (bat"ra-ko-fid'i-a), n.pl. [NL., 
< Gr. fidrpaxoc, a f rog," + ' 60/c, a serpent: see 
ophidian.} An order of Amphibia represented 
by the family Caciliida; : same as Ophiomorpha. 
Also Batrachonhidii. 
batrachophobia (bat'ra-ko-fo'bi-a), n. [< Gr. 
jlaTpaxof, a frog, + -^o/)('a. < $o[ieiv, fear.] 
Dread of batrachians ; aversion to toads, frogs, 
etc. [Rare.] 
Batrachopsida (bat-ra-kop'si-da), n. pi. [NL., 
< Gr. pdrpaxof, a frog, + 6^<r, appearance, + 
cliof, form.] A primary group or superclass of 
Vertebrata, conterminous with the class Am- 
phibia. contrasted with Sauropsida. 
Batrachospermeae (bafra-ko-sper'me-e), 71. pi. 
[NL., < Jiatrachospermuin + -ece.~] A small 
group of fresh-water alg classed with the red 
seaweeds, consisting of articulated filaments 
with whorls of necklace-like branches. The 
principal genus is Batrachospermum, sparingly 
represented in the United States. 
Batrachospermum (bat"ra-ko-sper'mum), n. 
[NL., < Gr. pdrpaxof, a frog, -f <mtpjia, seed.] 
A genus of algas, belonging to the order of red 
seaweeds, Floridece, and family Batrachosper- 
mecE. Batrachospermum moniliforme is the commonest 
of the few red algse which are found in fresh water. It 
consists of necklace-like branching filaments tinged with 
some shade of red or sometimes only grass-green, and 
grows in ditches and springs. 
batrachostomous (bat-ra-kos'to-mus), a. [< 
Gr. pdrpaxof, a frog, + orA/ia, mouth.] Frog- 
mouthed ; having a mouth like a frog : spe- 
cifically applied to birds of the genus Ba- 
tracltostomus. 
Batrachostomus (bat-ra-kos'to-mns), n. [NL., 
< Gr. /idrpaxof, a frog, + oroua, mouth.] A 
genus of East Indian fissirostral picarian birds, 
of the family Caprimulgidte, or goatsuckers, 
sometimes combined with Podargusin a family 
I'odargidce, the frogmouths, or frog-mouthed 
goatsuckers: so called from the enormous ex- 
tent of the mouth. The genus includes a number of 
species of India, Java, Borneo, Ceylon, Malacca, etc., which 
are among the very largest and most notable of the capri- 
mulgine series. B. javanenris is a leading species, fiom- 
bycintoma and Bomoycistomus are synonyms. 
Batrachus (bat'ra-kus), n. [L.,< Gr. fldrpaxof, a 
frog: see Batrachia.] A genus of fishes, typi- 
cal of the family Batrachida;, containing the 
toad-fish, B. tau, of the North Atlantic, and 
several closely related species. See toad-fish. 
bat-shell (bat'shel), n. [< bat 2 + shell.] A 
mollusk, a species of Valuta, V. respertilio, of a 
dusky-brown color. 
batsman (bats'man), n. ; pi. batsmen (-men). 
[< bafs, poss. of bat 1 , + man.] One who wields 
the bat in base-ball, cricket, and similar 
games; a batter. 
batster (bat'ster), n. [< bat 1 , r., + -uter.] A 
batsman or batter. 
