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3.54
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baton
noun
[ ˈbat(ə)n ]
• a thin stick used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or choir.
Similar:
stick
,
rod
,
staff
,
wand
,
bar
,
Origin:
early 16th century (denoting a staff or cudgel): from French bâton, earlier baston, from late Latin bastum ‘stick’.
Phrases
pass the baton
• hand over a particular duty or responsibility.
"the technique allows us to pass the baton to the next generation"
take up the baton
• accept a particular duty or responsibility.
"it was left to the capital's campuses to take up the baton"
under the baton of
• (of an orchestra or choir) conducted by.
"the contract also allows for the orchestra to record under the baton of Sir Edward Downes"