A battledore was originally a paddle-shaped wooden bat used by women as a mangle, or “beetle,” for linens, back in the fifteenth century.
There is no certainty as to the origin of the name, but it might then have been a play upon words, battle instead of beetle, and because beetle was also the name for a hard-sheathed insect for which another name was dor or dore, the two might have been combined humorously into battledore.
Our ancestors enjoyed their jokes, too. The name also denoted a paddle for removing loaves from an oven or for propelling a canoe.
And, when the game of rackets, subsequently called “battledore and shuttlecock,” reached England in the sixteenth century, the name was applied to the racket, because of its shape.
Related Posts
-
Where does the phrase “not to know B from a battledore (or broomstick, bull’s foot, buffalo’s foot)” originate and What does it mean?
The phrase "not to know B from a battledore means: To know not one letter from another; not to know beans; to be wholly illiterate, or extremely ignorant. This accusation of complete illiteracy…
-
What does the word “gauntlet” mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
During the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, the English forces observed a form of disciplinary punishment used among their German allies. It looked highly effective, so it was not…
-
What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word “incubus” come from?
In the Middle Ages any woman who gave birth to a witch or sorceress was supposed to have been visited, in her sleep, by a male demon or evil spirit. The name given…
-
Where does the word “Toilet” come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
The word "toilet" has had a rather curious development in the little more than four hundred years it has been in the language. Its origin was the French toilette, the diminutive of wile,…
-
What Does the Word Scapegoat Mean and Where Did the Word Scapegoat Come From?
A Scapegoat is a member of a group singled out for undeserved blame or negative treatment. The word "scapegoat" is a mistranslation of the word Azazel. An early Greek translation of the Old…
-
What Does the Word “Clock” Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?
Like cloche in French, the word clock literally means bell. When the large mechanical clock was invented in the fourteenth century it didn't tell time with a face and hands, but rather by…
