batman

English Online Dictionary. What means batman‎? What does batman mean?

English

Etymology 1

From bat (“packsaddle”) +‎ man. The element bat is from French bât, from Old French bast, from Late Latin bastum, possibly from Ancient Greek βαστάζω (bastázō, “to bear, carry, lift”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbæt.mən/
• Hyphenation: bat‧man

Noun

batman (plural batmen)

2. (military) A servant or valet to a military officer.

   Synonym: orderly
3. (by extension, informal) A personal assistant or supporter.

Translations

Verb

batman (third-person singular simple present batmans, present participle batmanning, simple past and past participle batmanned)

1. To act as a batman, wait on an officer.

See also

• batter
• batty man

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish بطمان (batman). Cognate with Chagatai [script needed] (bātmān).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /batˈman/
• Rhymes: -an
• Hyphenation: bat‧man

Noun

batman (plural batmans)

1. (Turkish units of measure) A unit of weight established in 1931 equal to 10 kg.
2. (historical units of measure) A Turkish unit of weight varying by location, time, and item from 2–8 okas (about 2.5–10 kg).
   • 1583 July 20, J. Newbery, letter in Richard Hakluyt's The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, p. 209:

     Euery bateman [in Bagdad] maketh 7. pound and 5. ounces English waight.

   • 1753, G. Thompson & al. in Jonas Hanway's Historical Account of the British Trade over the Caspian Sea, Vol. I, p. 351:

     Their weights [in Khiva] are the great batman equal to 18 lb. russian, and the lesser batman 9¼.

   • 1819, Abraham Rees, The Cyclopaedia, Vol. XXX, s.v. "Rottolo":

     At Smyrna, the cantaro, or kintal, contains 45 okes, or 100 rottoli. The batman is 6 okes, or 2400 drachms; and the oke is 400 drachms, and the rottolo = 180 drachms. The cantaro of 45 okes weighs 123 lbs. 4 oz. avoirdupois; and, therefore, the oke is = 2 lbs. 11 oz. 13 drs. avoirdupois.

Synonyms

• man (من) (Persian contexts); maund (Indian contexts)

Meronyms

• (subdivisions): dirhem or dram; cheki; rottol or rotl; oka
• (superdivisions): kantar or quintal; cheki

Translations

References

Further reading

• "batman" in the Ottoman Turkish Dictionary
• "batman, n.¹", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Etymology 3

In reference to the superhero Batman.

Verb

batman (third-person singular simple present batmans, present participle batmanning, simple past and past participle batmanned)

1. (slang, mountaineering) To climb up or down a rope free hand (i.e. as Batman does).

Anagrams

• Bantam, bantam

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Cognate with Turkish batman.

Pronunciation

Noun

batman (definite accusative batmanı, plural batmanlar)

1. (historical) A unit of weight corresponding to 20 girvənkə (“pounds”).

Declension

Further reading

• “batman” in Obastan.com.

Cebuano

Etymology

Its shape being likened to Batman's chest logo.

Noun

batman

1. a spiny orb-weaver; a common name of the spiders in the genus Gasteracantha

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English batsman.

Noun

batman m (plural batmani)

1. (cricket) batsman

Declension

References

• batman in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish بطمان (batman), from Proto-Turkic *batmān, from Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (ptmʾn' /⁠paymān⁠/, “measure, period; moderation; treaty”), compare Persian پیمان (peymân, “pledge; pact; agreement; contract”). Doublet of peyman.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑtmɑn/

Noun

batman (definite accusative batmanı)

1. (historical) A unit of weight formerly used in the Ottoman period.

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “batman”, in Nişanyan Sözlük