Baste, bāst, v.t. to sew slightly or with long stitches. [O. Fr. bastír, from Old High Ger. bestan, to sew.]
Bastille, bast-ēl′, n. an old fortress in Paris long used as a stale prison, and demolished by a revolutionary mob in July 1789: any prison regarded as a symbol of tyranny. [Fr.—O. Fr. bastir (Fr. bâtir), to build.]
Bastinado, bast-in-ād′o, v.t. to beat with a baton or stick, esp. on the soles of the feet (a form of punishment in the East):—pr.p. bastinād′ing or bastinād′oing; pa.p. bastinād′ed or bastinād′oed.—ns. Bastinade′, Bastinād′o. [Sp. bastonada, Fr. bastonnade—baston, bâton. See Baton.]
Bastion, bast′yun, n. a kind of tower at the angles of a fortification.—adj. Bast′ioned. [Fr.—O. Fr. bastir, to build.]
Bat, bat, n. a heavy stick: a flat club for striking the ball in cricket, a club for base-balls, a batsman: the clown's sword in a pantomime: a piece of brick: (slang) rate of speed, style.—v.i. to use the bat in cricket:—pr.p. bat′ting; pa.p. bat′ted.—ns. Bat′ter, Bats′man, one who wields the bat at cricket, &c.; Bat′ting, the management of a bat in playing games: cotton fibre prepared in sheets. [Perh. from A.S. bat (a doubtful form), prob. Celt. bat, staff.]
Bat, bat, n. an animal with a body like a mouse, but which flies on wings attached mainly to its fore-feet, but extending along its sides to the hind-feet. [M. E. bakke, apparently from Scand.; cf. Dan. aftenbakke, evening-bat.]
Batable, bāt′a-bl, adj. debatable, disputable. [A contr. of Debatable.]
Batata, ba-tä′ta, n. a plant with tuberous roots, the sweet potato. [Sp. batata, potato.]
Batavian, ba-tā′vi-an, adj. pertaining to the ancient Batavi in the Low Countries, or to the modern Dutch, their descendants.
Batch, bach, n. the quantity of bread baked or of anything made or got ready at one time: a set. [From Bake.]