battel

[ bat-l ]

/ ˈbæt l /

British

noun

an account with or terminal bill from a college of Oxford University for board, kitchen, and buttery expenses.

battels, expenses, bills, and accounts of a student at Oxford, including those for clothing, books, and personal expenses as well as for tuition, lodging, and food.

verb (used without object), bat·teled, bat·tel·ing.

to have an account with or to be supplied with food and drink from a college kitchen or buttery at Oxford University.

Nearby words

battailous, battalia, battalion, battani, batteau, battel, battels, battement, batten, batten down the hatches, batten plate

Origin of battel

1700–10; compare New Latin batellae (1636), batillī (1557), probably to be identified with late Middle English batell (in AL), taken to mean “charge for provisions”; of obscure origin; kinship with Scots, N England dialect ba(i)ttle rich, fattening (of pasture) is dubious

Related formsbat·tel·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for battels

The rest of the day was spent in seeing about battels and getting into the new ways.
Johnny Ludlow, Fifth Series|Mrs. Henry Wood
Will it be believed that the battels (bills) in College are connected with this word?
My Autobiography|F. Max Mller
This, indeed, is proved sufficiently by the average amount of the battels.
The Collected Writing of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II|Thomas De Quincey
The French king also ordered his battels with the aduise of his capteins.
Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (3 of 6): England (3 of 9)|Raphael Holinshed

On one awful day the second master announced to me that my battels would be stopped.
An Autobiography|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for battels

battels

/ (ˈbætəlz) /

pl n

(at some universities) the account of a member of a college for board, provisions, and other college expenses

Word Origin for battels

C16: perhaps from obsolete battle to feed, fatten, of uncertain origin

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