battledore
UK /ˈbæ.təl.dɔː/ · US /ˈbæ.tɫ̩.dɔɹ/ noun
Forms battledores battledoor
- noun A game played with a shuttlecock and rackets (properly battledore and shuttlecock); a forerunner of badminton.
- noun The racket used in this game.
- noun (obsolete) A child's hornbook for learning the alphabet.
- noun (historical) A wooden paddle-shaped bat or beetle used to wash clothes by beating, stirring, or smoothing them.
Synonyms
badminton racket badminton racquet battledore and shuttlecock
Etymology
From Middle English batildore, batylledore, batildure, batyldoure, batyndore, probably as a blend of Middle English betel (“bat, club”) and Old Occitan batedor (“beater, bat”).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “battledore”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details