See Also: barb(medicine)
barb(1)(dictionary)
barb(2)(dictionary)
barb(3)(dictionary)
barb(4)(dictionary)
barb(5)(dictionary)
barb(dictionary)
Barb - Archery(gambling)

barb(2) (iou)



barb noun1. [bɑ:b] In sense 1 also barbe. ME.
[Old & mod. French barbe from Latin barba beard.]
A piece of vertically pleated linen cloth worn over or under the chin, as by nuns. ME.
a. A man's beard. rare. LME-L17.
b. An appendage in an animal resembling a beard; esp. = BARBEL 2. L15.
A secondary backward-projecting point of an arrow, fish-hook, etc., making its extraction difficult. LME.
b. fig. A wounding quality or remark. L18.
Veterinary Medicine. Usu. in pl. Any of the folds of the mucous membrane which protect the submaxillary glands of cattle and horses; (in pl.) inflammation of these folds. E16.
Heraldry. A sepal (in pl. the calyx) of a flower. Also, the head of an arrow. L16.
Any of the lateral processes from the shaft of a feather. M19.
A sciaenid fish of the genus Menticirrhus, found on the N. American Atlantic and Gulf coasts; also called kingfish. Also, a brightly coloured tropical fish of the genus Barbus. L19.
Comb.: barbwire (chiefly US) = barbed wire s.v. BARBED adjective1 2.