Batter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battered (; p. pr. & vb. n. Battering.]
Etymology: [OE. bateren, OF. batre, F. battre, fr. LL. battere, for L. batuere to strike, beat; of unknown origin. Cf. Abate, Bate to abate.]
1. To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall or rampart.
2. To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage. "Each battered jade." Pope.
3. (Metallurgy)
To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly.
4 other Webster entries under this spelling
Batter, n.
1. A semi-liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs, milk, etc. , beaten together and used in cookery. King.
2. Paste of clay or loam. Holland.
3. (Printing)
A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.
Batter, n.
A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank; receding slope. Batter rule, an instrument consisting of a rule or frame, and a plumb line, by which the batter or slope of a wall is regulated in building.
Batter, v. i. (Arch.)
To slope gently backward.
Batter, n.
One who wields a bat; a batsman.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for batter; he lists it under beat.
Where he writes about it:
To batter and to bruise refer to the results of beating; that is battered which is broken or defaced by repeated blows on the surface (compare synonyms for SHATTER); that is bruised which has suffered even one severe contusion. — from beat