batman English · revision 6418

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1755|origins=la-lat bastum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbæt.mən/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from bat, a packsaddle, and [[man]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from [[fro|bast|alt=bat, bast|t=packsaddle]] (modern French bât),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-lat|bastum]] (see [[baton]]).^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A man in charge of a bat-horse, a packhorse carrying an officer's baggage: 1755.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It came to mean an officer's personal servant in the army and other armed forces.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The feminine ''batwoman'' is from 1941.^(Etymonline) The comic-book hero Batman, unrelated, dates from 1939.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1755 – a man in charge of a packhorse.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1939 – Batman, the comic hero.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1941 – batwoman.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(British)'' An officer's personal servant in the armed forces.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[baton]]

+ * [[bastion]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different batman, a Turkish and Persian weight varying from place to place, is from Turkish batman (1583 in MWU, 1599 in the OED).^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}