battel, battill, battle (1)

t. & i. [From O. Eng. & Scotch bat to fatten, to be fat; and, according to Mahn, A.S. dæl = deal, portion.] [BAT, V., BATFUL, BATTEN.] A. Transitive : To make fat. "Ashes are a marvellous improvement to battle barren land, by reason of the fixed salt which they contain."-Ray: Proverbs. IMG:content-1116.png:[blocks in formation] [BATTELER.) (In this sense Skinner and Boucher derive battel from Dut. betaalen = to pay, whence may be derived the Eng. tale = a reckoning, tell = reckon, and tally . In Todd's Johnson it is derived from Sax. tell an = count, with the prefix be .)