Bâtons in English?

What's the best English translation for Bâtons?

I just get tired of typing â (that makes â) all the time.

"Wands," I know, is right out, though it's familiar enough to me that I find it slipping in by mistake.

"Sticks", "Poles", "Staffs", "Quarterstaffs", "Clubs", and "Bludgeons" all seem to come close, but none of them are exactly right.

The English word baton refers either to a metal stick with rubber ends that drum majors wave about and toss in connection with marching bands; or to an orchestral conductor's stick, neither of which is spot on either.

I have wondered this too ihcoyc.

In my Grimaud LWB (it has both French and English) the Batons are refered to as clubs.

However, my French-English dictionary says that baton translates as stick.

Neither of these feel quite right.

Personally, I use Batons (without the circumflex over the â) as the English rendition for the Marseilles Bâtons. (In English, my personal preference is to call the Marseilles suits Batons, Swords, Coins, and Cups in English.)

I personally don't like calling the suit 'Wands' as it puts a magical twist on the Batons suit. 'Rods' or 'Staves' or ''Clubs' could work for me. Rods, Staves or Clubs seem to me to be more neutral English words than Wands -- and they sound more elegant than 'Sticks'. By the way, in some of the Golden Dawn's materials, I've actually seen Sticks used as an alternate name for the suit.

If I were to use a traditional English suit name rather than Batons, I'd personally opt for Rods.

I have to admit that Batons in English makes sense only to someone who understands that it's a borrowing from the French word Bâtons. On the other hand, someone unfamiliar with the Marseilles might find that the Batons appellation in English reminds him of the batons that cheerleaders carry.

-delete-

to what extent...

One of the defining qualities when considering what to call
a suit might be along comparative lines in terms of limits:

Cups as vessels or symbols
Coins if given or received
Swords in unity or opposition
Batons as intentions or abilities

How their active nature, by name, is embodied and applied?

How 'bout a Poll (for the poles...LOL)

Wow, apparently, I missed something in translation! If a Bâton isn't a baton, what indeed is it? I mean, I get that it's not a cheerleader thing...
(Another example of why I need a Marseille for Morons guide...)

(PS: Personally, I have a higher tolerance for "Wands" for Bastons than "Pentacles" for Deniers...although I see yer point, Rusty...)

B & a c i r c ; a t o n s

without any spaces, reads...

Bâtons

HA! I guess I left out the semi colon. I'd never even tried to put that little accent mark in before....


Oo oo oo, I went in and fixed it and it worked...

-delete-