barbs

barb ¹

 (bärb)

n.

1. A sharp point projecting in reverse direction to the main point of a weapon or tool, as on an arrow or fishhook.

2. A cutting remark.

3. Zoology A small, sharp point projecting in reverse direction from the tip, as on a porcupine quill or a bee sting.

4. Zoology One of the parallel filaments projecting from the main shaft of a feather.

5. Botany A short, sharp, reflexed bristle or hairlike projection.

6. See barbel¹.

7. Any of various Old World freshwater fishes of the genera Barbus, Puntius, and related genera of the family Cyprinidae.

8. A linen covering for a woman's head, throat, and chin worn in medieval times.

tr.v. barbed, barb·ing, barbs

To provide or furnish with a barb.

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[Middle English barbe, from Old French, beard, from Latin barba; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots.]

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barb ²

 (bärb)

n.

1. A horse of a breed introduced by the Moors into Spain from northern Africa that has high withers and an arched neck and is known for its speed and endurance.

2. Any of a breed of domestic pigeon that has prominent wattles around the eyes.

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[French barbe, from Italian barbero, Berber, from Vulgar LatinBarbaria, Barbary States, from Latin barbarus, barbarous; see barbarous.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

barbs

(bɑːbz)

pl n

(Pharmacology) informal US barbiturates

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Translations

barbigli

barbs

[bɑːbz] NPL (Drugs) → barbitúricos mpl

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005