batman

noun

1. A servant or valet to a military officer.

   “[A]s a rule the chambers were occupied only by Stack, who had been Wilfrid's batman in the war, and had for him one of those sphinx-like habits which wear better than expressed devotions.”

2. (broadly, informal)A personal assistant or supporter.

   “He became my retainer, my batman, the solution to my ever-growing need for an extra pair of hands.”

   “Thank you to a special Carer, Thank you for being my nurse, My housemaid, and my cook, My batman and my chauffeur, And my eyes when I forget to look!”

   “The Quease, as you will have read, thought this a huge cheek and, as is ever the case with her, was not slow to point it out. She further accused me of treating him as my batman.”

3. A unit of weight established in 1931 equal to 10 kg.
4. (historical)A Turkish unit of weight varying by location, time, and item from 2–8 okas (about 2.5–10 kg).

   “Euery bateman [in Bagdad] maketh 7. pound and 5. ounces English waight.”

   “A Batman is fiue and fiftie pound weight English.”

   “Their weights [in Khiva] are the great batman equal to 18 lb. russian, and the lesser batman 9¼.”

   “At Smyrna, the cantaro, or kintal, contains 45 okes, or 100 rottoli. The batman is 6 okes, or 2400 drachms; and the oke is 400 drachms, and the rottolo = 180 drachms. The cantaro of 45 okes weighs 123 lbs. 4 oz. avoirdupois; and, therefore, the oke is = 2 lbs. 11 oz. 13 drs. avoirdupois.”

   “6107. Turkish Weights. The Turkish Chequi is 11⅓ ounces avoirdupois... 1 Batman = 6 Okas 1 Oka = 4 Chequi”

5. Coelostathma discopunctana, a moth of Eastern North America.

verb

1. To act as a batman, wait on an officer.

   “Batmanning was voluntary. McPherson was a bit incensed about the loss of his batman, but he made do with somebody else.”

   “OK, I batmanned. Give me an Xterm.”

   “Yes, well, had I known you were having a row with the loo, I would have batmanned the other direction.”

   “The preservation of the batmanning system in captivity was established through an Anglo-German agreement of 1918, which had allowed one orderly to be allocated to a group of seven imprisoned captains, one to a group of four field officers and one to each general.”

2. (slang)To climb up or down a rope free hand (i.e. as Batman does).

   “At 16,200 feet I batmanned madly down the fixed ropes, stopping constantly to catch my breath, not sure how much longer I could continue.”

   “Instead, they batmanned effortlessly hand-over-hand up the rope like kids pulling in perch.”

   “The Germans had left fixed ropes in place, which the Brits unashamedly batmanned up to reach the summit ridge.”

   “So without hesitation I “batmanned” the rope, freed it, and we continued.”

   “When climbers fall they will usually want to return to their high point to resume climbing, and that will either involve batmanning or boinking.”

3. (alt-of, slang)Alternative letter-case form of batman.

   “He laughed, Batmanned back up to his last piece of gear and hammered a 5/8-inch angle piton into the crack with an ascending ring like any nail met with a hammer.”

name

1. A province in the Black Sea region, in northern Turkey.
2. A district of Batman Province, Turkey.
3. A municipality, the capital city of Batman district and Batman Province, Turkey.
4. A surname.
5. A fictional hero and the main protagonist of DC Comics, noted for his intellect and stealth, who uses a bat-themed costume and equipment (including a belt with an array of utilities) and is assisted by his sidekick Robin.

   “You’re afraid of being ashes. You’re afraid of being forgotten. And you will be forgotten, Joker. Because of me. I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!”

   ““But next time—” Night vanished before the guard could finish—just kind of disappeared like Batman—which Viv found almost as annoying as the fact that he'd dragged her down a well. He didn't think he had to explain himself?”

   “I watched through squinted eyes as the driver-side door opened and a man stepped out wielding a Maglite, his other hand placed on his Batman-like utility belt. What all did they keep in those things? Surely the pistol, a few clips, handcuffs […]”

   “For quotations using this term, see Citations:Batman.”

intj

1. An intensifier for interjections created with the adjective holy, in imitation of dialogue between Batman and his sidekick Robin.

   “Holy guacamole, Batman!”

   “Holy nostalgic flashback, Batman! Aly and AJ Michalka, the actor-musician sister duo known for dominating Radio Disney in the late aughts (they’ve also released some very good music since then), just sent us straight back to our tweens by wearing none other than iconic mall brand Limited Too.”