batman
[bat-muh n]
- a soldier assigned to an officer as a servant.
Show More
Origin of batman
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for batman
Contemporary Examples
I heard that at one point you were trying to put together a Batman musical on Broadway.
Tim Burton Talks ‘Big Eyes,’ His Taste For the Macabre, and the ‘Beetlejuice’ SequelMarlow Stern
December 17, 2014
With Batman and Planet of the Apes, you seem to be operating around 15 years ahead of the culture.
Tim Burton Talks ‘Big Eyes,’ His Taste For the Macabre, and the ‘Beetlejuice’ SequelMarlow Stern
December 17, 2014
Comic book heroes are even hotter—Spiderman and Batman probably earn more money nowadays than Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
When she joins Batman and Superman in the Justice Society of America, she does so as secretary.
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever ImagineTom Arnold-Forster
November 3, 2014
Such standout performances have been rare: her big-screen blockbuster salvo, Batman Begins (2005), fizzled to nothing.
Historical Examples
Some, like my first batman Dinsdale, died in hospital at Alexandria or in Malta.
With Manchesters in the EastGerald B. Hurst
So I told my batman to get hot water brought there in the mornings.
An Onlooker in France 1917-1919William Orpen
As soon as my batman wires me that the weather has improved.
The Orchard of TearsSax Rohmer
The other was a military “batman,” a blue-eyed Yorkshireman.
The Watchers of the PlainsRidgewell Cullum
He slept soundly and was wakened an hour before dawn by his batman.
Tam O' The ScootsEdgar Wallace
batman
- an officer's personal servant in any of the armed forces
Show More
Word Origin
C18: from Old French bat, bast, from Medieval Latin bastum packsaddle
Batman1
- a character in an American comic strip and several films who secretly assumes a batlike costume in order to fight crime
Show More
Batman2
- John . 1801–39, a pioneer who selected the site of the city of Melbourne
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for batman
n.
"officer's servant," originally military title for "man in charge of a bat-horse and its load," 1755, from bat "pack-saddle" (late 14c.), from Old French bast (Modern French bât), from Late Latin bastum (see baton). Hence also batwoman (1941). The comic book hero dates from 1939.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Batman
A comic strip character that first appeared in 1939. With his faithful sidekick Robin (the Boy Wonder), Batman fights crime in Gotham City, foiling evil villains such as the Joker and the Riddler.
Show More
Note
Batman's adventures have been widely adapted for television and a number of motion pictures.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.