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You are here: Home / Language / What Does “Batten Down the Hatches” Mean and Where Did the Naval Expression Come From?

What Does “Batten Down the Hatches” Mean and Where Did the Naval Expression Come From?

July 20, 2020 by Karen Hill

“Batten down the hatches” is a traditional naval order to securely cover the openings or hatches to the hold on the deck of a sailing ship.

Batten is the key word and comes from the same root as the French word baton, like the one used by an orchestra conductor or in a relay race.

A batten is a strip of wood, which in this case was used to nail down a tarpaulin over the ship’s hatches during a storm.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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