batting English · revision 16144

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1611, Cotgrave}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbætɪŋ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from the verb [[af|en|bat|-ing]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) or from the noun ''bat'', a club.^(OED 2026) The sense "cotton in sheets" is from the beating of raw cotton to clean it,^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline) and Barnhart also derives it from [[batt]] (1830), a felted mass of fibre.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Beating, in washing or smoothing linen, in compounds such as ''batting-staff'': 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sporting sense, the action of using a bat in [[cricket]], is from 1773,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and baseball's ''batting average'' from 1867.^(Etymonline) The beating of raw cotton to remove impurities is recorded from 1813,^(OED 2026) and cotton fibre prepared in sheets for quilts from 1875–76.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026) In dialect, ''batting'' was a beating and the snaring of birds at night with nets.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – beating linen (obsolete by 1798).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1773 – using a bat in cricket.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1813 – beating raw cotton.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1867 – ''batting average''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1875 – cotton in sheets for quilts.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or skill of hitting with a [[bat]], in [[baseball]] or [[cricket]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Cotton, wool or synthetic fibre in sheets or rolls, used for stuffing [[mattress|alt=mattresses]] and lining [[quilt|alt=quilts]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[batting average]]

+ * [[batting cage]]

+ * [[batting order]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}