bating

Verb

bate (third-person singular simple present bates, present participle bating, simple past and past participle bated)

1. (transitive) To reduce the force of something; to abate.
   • Ah, left ſome Thorn ſhoul'd pierce thy tender Foot, / Or thou ſhoul'dſt fall in flying my purſuit! / To ſharp uneven Ways thy ſteps decline; / Abate thy Speed, and I will bate of mine.1717, John Dryden, “Book I. [The Transformation of Daphne into a Laurel.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 23
2. (transitive) To restrain, usually with the sense of being in anticipation
   • […] and to his dying day he bated his breath a little when he told the story of the stroke with the willow wand.1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “Home and Its Sorrows”, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book first, page 66
3. (figuratively, sometimes, transitive) To cut off, remove, take away.
   • Also about Autumne bate the earth from about the roots of Olives, and lay them bare, but in stead thereof put good mucke thereto.1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XVII.] CHAP. XVIII. The manner of planting, ordering, and dressing Olive trees. Also which be the conuenient times for graffing.”, in...
4. (archaic, transitive) To leave out, except, bar.
   • Bate the King, and be he fleſh and blood, / He lyes that ſaies it, thy mother at fifteen / Was black and ſinful to her.c. 1608–1611, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Maid’s Tragedy”, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies. […], [part 1], London: […] J[ohn] Macock [and H. Hills], for John Martyn, Henry Herringman, and...
5. To waste away.
   • Bardoll, am I not falne away vilely ſince this laſt action? do I not bate? do I not dwindle? Why, my skinne hangs about me like an old Ladies looſe gowne.c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]
6. To deprive of.
   • When baseness is exalted, do not bate / The place its honour for the person's sake; […]a. 1634 (date written), George Herbert, “The Church Porch”, in Alexander B[alloch] Grosart, editor, The Complete Works in Verse and Prose of George Herbert. […] (The Fuller Worthies’ Library), volume...

See all 19 meanings of bate