Meaning of baton

ba•ton

1. a wand used by a conductor.
2. a rod of lightweight metal fitted with a weighted bulb at each end and carried and twirled by a drum major or majorette.
3. a hollow rod of wood, paper, or plastic that is passed during a race from one member of a relay team to the next in a prescribed area.
4. a staff, club, or truncheon, esp. one serving as a mark of office or authority.
1. a diminutive of the bend sinister, couped at the extremities: used in England as a mark of bastardy.
2. a similar diminutive of the ordinary bend.