battledore

American  

[bat-l-dawr] / ˈbæt lˌdɔr /

noun

1. Also called battledore and shuttlecock.  a game from which badminton was developed, played since ancient times in India and other Asian countries.

2. a light racket for striking the shuttlecock in this game.

3. a 17th- and 18th-century hornbook of wood or cardboard, used as a child's primer.

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verb (used with or without object)

battledored, battledoring

1. to toss or fly back and forth.

   to battledore the plan among one's colleagues.

battledore British  

/ ˈbætəlˌdɔː /

noun

1. Also called: battledore and shuttlecock.  an ancient racket game

2. a light racket, smaller than a tennis racket, used for striking the shuttlecock in this game

3. (formerly) a wooden utensil used for beating clothes, in baking, etc

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Etymology

Origin of battledore

1400–50; late Middle English batyldo ( u ) re washing beetle, equivalent to batyl to beat (clothes) in washing (frequentative of bat ¹ ) + -dore dung beetle ( beetle ¹ for beetle ² by way of pun, with allusion to filth on clothes). See dor ¹