| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| baton |
| |
| SYLLABICATION: | ba·ton |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  b -t n , b -, btn |
| NOUN: | 1. Music A slender wooden stick or rod used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or band. 2. A hollow metal rod with a heavy rubber tip or tips that is wielded and twirled by a drum major or drum majorette. 3. A short staff carried by certain public officials as a symbol of office. 4. Sports The hollow cylinder that is carried by each member of a relay team in a running race and passed to the next team member. 5. A short stick carried by police; a billy club. 6. Heraldry A shortened narrow bend, often signifying bastardy. | | ETYMOLOGY: | French bâton, from Old French baston, stick, from Vulgar Latin *bast , *bastn-.
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
