The Hebrew word (atalleph') so rendered (Leviticus 11:19; Deuteronomy 14:18) implies "flying in the dark." The bat is reckoned among the birds in the list of unclean animals. To cast idols to the "moles and to the bats" means to carry them into dark caverns or desolate places to which these animals resort (Isaiah 2:20), i.e., to consign them to desolation or ruin.

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) A large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket, etc.

2. (n.) Shale or bituminous shale.

3. (n.) A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.

4. (n.) A part of a brick with one whole end.

5. (v. t.) To strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat.

6. (v. i.) To use a bat, as in a game of baseball.

7. (n.) One of the Cheiroptera, an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. The common bats are small and insectivorous. See Cheiroptera and Vampire.