batch, batche

[From Eng. bake; A.S. bac an; as thatch comes through Old Eng. thecchen, from A.S. theccan = to cover, to conceal, to thatch. In Dan. bægt; Dut. baksel; Ger. geback.] [BAKE.] L. Lit .: As much bread as a baker produces at one operation. "Bahche, or bakynge, batche: Pistura."-P. Par. "... waiting most earnestly for the hour when the batch that was in the oven was to be drawn."-Transl. of Rabelais, iv. 199. (S. in Boucher.) II. Figuratively : 1. Of things: A quantity of anything made at once, and which may therefore be presumed to have the same qualities throughout. "Except he were of the same meal and batch ."-Ben Jonson. 2. Of persons (somewhat disrespectfully): A crew or gang of persons of the same profe ion or proclivities. "An' there a batch o' wabster lads Blackguarding frae Kilmarnock." Burns: The Holy Fair. "Another batch of 200 returned Communists arrived here"-Times, Sept. 10, 1879: French Corresp. * bătch'-el-or, s. [BACHELOR.] *bāte (1), s . Old spelling of BOAT. * bate (2), s. or abbreviated from debate (q.v.).] Shakesp.: 2 Hen. IV ., ii. 4. [From A.S. bate = contention;