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barb - 13 dictionary results
barb
1 [bahrb]
–noun
| 1. | a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead. |
| 2. | an obviously or openly unpleasant or carping remark. |
| 3. | Botany, Zoology. a hooked or sharp bristle. |
| 4. | Ornithology. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather. |
| 5. | one of a breed of domestic pigeons, similar to the carriers or homers, having a short, broad bill. |
| 6. | any of numerous, small, Old World cyprinid fishes of the genera Barbus and Puntius, often kept in aquariums. |
| 7. | Usually, barbs. Veterinary Pathology. a small protuberance under the tongue in horses and cattle, esp. when inflamed and swollen. |
| 8. | Also, barbe. a linen covering for the throat and breast, formerly worn by women mourners and now only by some nuns. |
| 9. | Obsolete. a beard. |
–verb (used with object)
| 10. | to furnish with a barb or barbs. |
Synonyms:
1. spur, spike, prong, barbule; snag, prickle, spicule.
1. spur, spike, prong, barbule; snag, prickle, spicule.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To barb
barb 1 (bärb) n.
To provide or furnish with a barb. [Middle English barbe, from Old French, beard, from Latin barba; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Barb
Barb\, n. [F. barbe, fr. L. barba beard. See Beard, n.]1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it. The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his mouth. --Walton. 2. A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners. [Obs.] 3. pl. Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.] 4. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. "Having two barbs or points." --Ascham. 5. A bit for a horse. [Obs.] --Spenser. 6. (Zo["o]l.) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather. 7. (Zo["o]l.) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; -- also improperly called whiting. 8. (Bot.) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.Barb
Barb\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Barbing.]1. To shave or dress the beard of. [Obs.] 2. To clip; to mow. [Obs.] --Marston. 3. To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc. But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire. --Milton.Barb
Barb\, n. [F. barbe, fr. Barbarie.]1. The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors. 2. (Zo["o]l.) A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.Barb
Barb\, n. [Corrupted fr. bard.] Armor for a horse. Same as 2d Bard, n., 1.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : barb
Spanish:
lengüeta,
German:
der Widerhaken,
Japanese:
あご
barb
c.1374, from O.Fr. barbe "beard, beardlike appendage," from L. barba "beard," cognate with O.E. beard.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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barb (bärb) Pronunciation Key
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.


