Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BAT'TER, v.t. [Fr. battre; Sp. batir; It. battere; L. batuo, to beat. See Beat.]

1. To beat with successive blows; to beat with violence, so as to bruise, shake, or demolish; as, to batter a wall.
2. To wear or impair with beating; as, a battered pavement; a battered jade. – Dryden. Pope.
3. To attack with a battering ram.
4. To attack with heavy artillery, for the purpose of making a breach in a wall or rampart.