vbl. sb. [f. BAT v.1, sb.2]
1. The action of using or striking with a bat: † a. formerly in washing or smoothing linen (attrib. in batting-staff, -log, etc.).
1611. Cotgr., Batoir, a Launderesses batting staffe.
1798. W. Hutton, Fam. Hutton, 98. A girl of fifteen … lading water into her pail, while standing upon her batting-lag.
b. in Cricket.
1773. Gentl. Mag., XLIII. 451. The hay may rue, that is unhous’d, The batting of that day.
1882. Daily Tel., 27 May, 3/7. Messrs. Thornton and Schultz opened the batting for the Gentlemen.
c. Beating out the impurities from raw cotton, an operation now superseded by use of ‘opening’ and ‘scutching’ machines.
1819. Pantologia, Batting Machine … for beating and cleaning cotton.
1835. Ure, Philos. Manuf., 311. Batting cotton by hand … seems by far the hardest work in a factory … and is somewhat similar to threshing corn.
2. concr. Cotton fiber prepared in sheets for quilts or bed-covers; cf. BAT sb.2 13.
1875. H. Wood, Therap. (1879), 645. For some purposes a stronger batting … is prepared.
1883. Century Mag., Oct., 819/2. It [olive oil] is filtered through six layers of cotton batting.
