Collins English-English Dictionary

baton ['bætən] [bɒt[~ɔ] də kɔm[~ɒ]dm[~ɒ]]

1. 1. n a thin stick used by the conductor of an orchestra, choir, etc, to indicate rhythm or expression

2. 2. n a short stick carried for use as a weapon, as by a policeman; truncheon

3. 3. n (as modifier)

   a baton charge

4. 4. n [athletics] a short bar carried by a competitor in a relay race and transferred to the next runner at the end of each stage

5. 5. n a long stick with a knob on one end, carried, twirled, and thrown up and down by a drum major or drum majorette, esp at the head of a parade

6. 6. n a staff or club carried by an official as a symbol of authority

7. 7. n [heraldry] a single narrow diagonal line superimposed on all other charges, esp one curtailed at each end, signifying a bastard line

8. 8. n [Etymology] C16: from French bâton, from Late Latin bastum rod, probably ultimately from Greek bastazein to lift up, carry

9. 9. n an antler object found in Upper Palaeolithic sites from the Aurignacian period onwards, consisting of a rod, often ornately decorated, with a hole through the thicker end

10. 10. n [Etymology] literally: baton of command, although the object was probably actually used in making shafts for arrows and spears