• bate •
Pronunciation: bayt • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: 1. To diminish, lower, lessen. 2. To deduct, subtract, take away.
Notes: Here is a word that seems stuck in the idiom 'bated breath'. I used this phrase idiomatically for decades without knowing the meaning of bate. I'll bet many still do that. Not to be confused with bait, even though most of the major English dictionaries now accept this confusion.
In Play: Let's start off with a variation of the common idiom: "I bated my breath and bit my lip when Lotta Noyes took the stage and tried to sing along with the band." Now let's wander away from the commonplace: "The laughter of Cindy Mae Lovett alone could bate all of Harold's doubts, worries, and concerns about her sincerity."
Word History: Today's Good Word is a victim of elision; it was at one time abate. This word was hacked from French abattre "to beat down; reduce, diminish", inherited from Vulgar (Street) Latin, abbatere. This Latin word comprises ad "(up) to" + battuere "to beat", which French remodeled into abattoir "slaughterhouse". Latin battuere became French battre "to beat, strike" which ended up in English as the verb batter. Latin created its verb from PIE bhau-t- "to hit, strike". We see further evidence of it in Latin fustis "cudgel", Welsh bathu "to stamp (a coin), to mint", Scots Gaelic bat, bata "stick, cudgel", and English beat and bat. (So as not to bate her contribution to this series, let's now thank grandmaster of GW suggestions Jackie Strauss of Philadelphia for today's often confused Good Word.)
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