bated, ppl. a.
(ˈbeɪtɪd)
[f. bate v.2 + -ed.]
Lowered or lessened in position, amount, force, estimation, etc.; esp. in bated breath: breathing subdued or restrained under the influence of awe, terror, or other emotion.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 125 With bated breath, and whispring humblenesse. a 1637 B. Jonson Masques (1692) 335 The longing Bridegroom, in the Porch, Shews you again the bated Torch. 1854 Mrs. Gaskell North & S. xvi, Take the bated wage, and be thankful. 1872 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xxi. 632 It was whispered with bated breath that the vengeance for the blood of Waltheof had begun. |