barbicel
[ bahr-buh-sel ]
nounOrnithology.
one of the minute processes fringing the barbules of certain feathers.
Origin of barbicel
11865–70; <New Latin barbicella, equivalent to Latin barbi- (combining form of barba beard) + -cella diminutive suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use barbicel in a sentence
Each barbule bears many fine barbicels and hamuli or hooklets.
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition | Vernon L. Kellogg
British Dictionary definitions for barbicel
barbicel
/ (ˈbɑːbɪˌsɛl) /
noun
ornithol any of the minute hooks on the barbules of feathers that interlock with those of adjacent barbules
Origin of barbicel
1C19: from New Latin barbicella, literally: a small beard, from Latin barba beard
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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