[f. BATTER v.2] The slope of a wall, terrace, or bank, from the perpendicular; a receding slope, etc.
1743. Bp. Maxwell, Sel. Trans. 193 (Jam.). When the kill is formed to four and a half feet high … the second batter begins.
1823. P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., 329. Batter, the leaning part of the upper part of the face of a wall which so inclines as to make the plumb-line fall within the base.
1884. Scotsman, 10 April, 6/2. These brick piers are all erected with a ‘batter’ of 1 in 36—which means that they are to that extent broader at the base than at the top.
b. Batter-rule, an instrument consisting of a plumb-line and a triangular frame, one side of which makes a given angle with the line, used for setting a wall, etc., at the proper slope or batter.
1847. in Craig.
