Baton

bat′on, Batoon , ba-toon′, n. a staff or truncheon, esp. of a policeman: a marshal's staff.— v.t. to strike with a baton.— n. Bat′on-sin′ister , a well-known heraldic indication of illegitimacy, improperly called Bar-sinister , a diminutive of a bend-sinister, not extending to the sides of the shield, so as to resemble a marshal's baton laid diagonally over the family arms from left to right. [Fr. bâton —Low L. basto , a stick; of unknown origin.]