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batten

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To grow fat, thrive, or prosper, often at another's expense; suggests feeding greedily or enriching oneself through exploitation, as in "batten on corruption."

Detailed Definition
“Batten” implies greedy flourishing, especially in phrases like “batten on.” In poetry, it critiques parasitic power—kings, clergy, or lovers who feed on others’ labor or love. Its visceral connotation suits satirical or political verse, where excess contrasts with suffering. The word’s blunt sound reinforces moral disgust, making it effective in invective or social commentary from Jonson to Blake.
Example
Example in poetry:
"They batten on the spoils of war," wrote a satirist of corrupt generals; In Shakespeare’s Macbeth: "The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements"—later editors note "batten" implies feeding greedily; "Batten not on flattery, lest it rot thy soul," advises a moral epistle; Milton uses "batten" to describe demons feasting on sin; "The courtiers batten on the people’s toil," cries the reformer-poet; Wolves batten in the dark, while lambs sleep unaware.
Additional Notes
“Batten” implies thriving through exploitation—e.g., “batten on the labor of others”—and carries moral censure; in political or satirical verse, it critiques greed, especially among clergy or nobility, linking corpulence to corruption.
Also Known As
feed fatten thrive hatch
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