Is bate a word?

[Elisheva]

It appeared on DS's spelling list last week. I wrote a note at the bottom to ask the teacher what it meant and he replied: to moderate or restrain, as in wait with bated breath or to lessen or diminish, abate.
But is bate in itself a word?

Yes

Could you put it in a sentence for me?

I usually look these things up in the dictionary, occasionally I google them. [radical]

Yes, it's possibly archaic but certainly a proper word.

Yes, old-fashioned word for temper.

Also something to do with falconry, used as a verb then though - hawks bate, apparently (think it means flap their wings)

Not aware of the teacher's version though.

I can't bate my enthusiasm.

A bate is a sulky temper tantrum.

Or, as a verb, it's to restrain something with force/effort "bated breath".

It's means something like getting into a tizz, doesn't it? Not quite a temper tantrum, but sort of low level moodiness.

If it was on a spelling list; it very probably should have been bait...

From my dictionary app:

Bate

—verb (used with object), bat·ed, bat·ing.

to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.
to lessen or diminish; abate: setbacks that bated his hopes.

It was as a homophone with bate. I did google it, but got the old English word for angry definition.
Not an especially useful word for an 8 year old!

Why is it not useful to expand an 8 year old's vocabulary?

We used to say "he's in a bate" meaning a mood, in the 90s.

"In a bate" or" batey-batey" was used about someone being cross when I was at school - 1960's.

And I am sure bate is used in that way in How to be Topp!

Old fashioned slang for in a temper. Hawks do it- it's a falconry word. And the teacher is right- it also means restrain. But it's pretty ancient!

Definitely a falconary word....as any Antonia forest fan would know!