battledore

[ bat-l-dawr, -dohr ]

/ ˈbæt lˌdɔr, -ˌdoʊr /

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noun

Also called battledore and shuttlecock. a game from which badminton was developed, played since ancient times in India and other Asian countries.

a light racket for striking the shuttlecock in this game.

a 17th- and 18th-century hornbook of wood or cardboard, used as a child's primer.

verb (used with or without object), bat·tle·dored, bat·tle·dor·ing.

to toss or fly back and forth: to battledore the plan among one's colleagues.

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Origin of battledore

1400–50; late Middle English batyldo(u)re washing beetle, equivalent to batyl to beat (clothes) in washing (frequentative of bat¹) + -dore dung beetle (beetle¹ for beetle² by way of pun, with allusion to filth on clothes). See dor¹

Words nearby battledore

battlebus, battle clasp, Battle Creek, battle cruiser, battle cry, battledore, battledore placenta, battle dress, battle fatigue, battlefield, battlefront

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use battledore in a sentence

The difference is that instead of racquet and ball, battledore and shuttlecock are used.
The Complete Bachelor|Walter Germain
In brief, the author is trying to get the truth and not merely playing baby-battledore among phrases.
Instigations|Ezra Pound
He made his characters play a game of verbal battledore and shuttlecock.
The English Stage|Augustin Filon
In both towns and villages the streets are the playground, and here they play ball, or battledore and shuttlecock, or fly kites.
Peeps at Many Lands: Japan|John Finnemore

The girls play battledore and shuttlecock and bounce balls, and the boys spin tops and make them fight.
Peeps at Many Lands: Japan|John Finnemore

British Dictionary definitions for battledore

battledore

/ (ˈbætəlˌdɔː) /

noun

Also called: battledore and shuttlecock an ancient racket game

a light racket, smaller than a tennis racket, used for striking the shuttlecock in this game

(formerly) a wooden utensil used for beating clothes, in baking, etc

Word Origin for battledore

C15 batyldoure, perhaps from Old Provençal batedor a beater, from Old French battre to beat, batter 1

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