battue

[ ba-too, -tyoo; French ba-ty ]

noun

, Chiefly British.

, plural bat·tues [ba-, tooz, -, tyooz, b, a, -, ty].

1. Hunting.
   1. the beating or driving of game from cover toward a stationary hunter.
   2. a hunt or hunting party using this method of securing game.
2. undiscriminating slaughter of defenseless or unresisting crowds.

battue

/ baty; -ˈtjuː; bæˈtuː /

noun

1. the beating of woodland or cover to force game to flee in the direction of hunters
2. 1. an organized shooting party using this method
   2. the game disturbed or shot by this method
3. indiscriminate slaughter, as of a defenceless crowd

Word History and Origins

Origin of battue¹

1810–20; < French, noun use of feminine of battu, past participle of battre < Latin battuere to beat. See battuta, battle ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of battue¹

C19: from French, feminine of battu beaten, from battre to beat, from Latin battuere

Example Sentences

These birds are especially on the spot when the blacks set fire to the bush and organise a big battue.

From Project Gutenberg

My hosts had evidently had a recent battue, or fire hunt, for they had a most extraordinary stock of food.

From Project Gutenberg

We all now came together, exulting in the fine fortune we had met with, for we had made a regular battue of it.

From Project Gutenberg

I can promise you plenty of hunting adventures; and, when the proper season arrives, we shall have a grand battue of the beavers.

From Project Gutenberg

The lions were now caught and kept in cages, until they were turned out for a royal battue.

From Project Gutenberg