A reduction or decrease, especially in architecture referring to a sloped or stepped reduction in a structure's width as it rises.
From 'bate' (to reduce) plus the suffix '-ment' denoting a resulting action or state. It entered English legal and architectural terminology in the medieval period.
In Gothic architecture, batement describes those cool stepped or tapered sections where castle walls and towers get narrower as they go up—it's both practical (less weight higher up) and aesthetically pleasing.
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