Etymology PIE word *bʰardʰéh₂ From Middle English barbe, from Middle French barbe, from Old French barbe (“beard, beard-like element”). Doublet of beard.
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.1545, Roger Ascham, Toxophilus:
And she was the only girl in class who did not, sometime through the lesson, get a barb of sarcasm from Miss Brownell, though she made as many mistakes as the rest of them.1923, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “Chapter 8”, in Emily of New Moon:
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“Maybe I just wanted to come and see for myself if you were real. Or if you were a figment of my imagination.” The barb hurt, but she didn't blame him.2018, Elle Wright, Wherever You Are (The Jacksons of Ann Arbor), HarperCollins, →ISBN:
His barbs about fake accounts have weakened trust in Twitter, just as the company prepares to moderate heated political discussions about an upcoming election in Brazil and the midterm elections this fall in the United States, misinformation experts said.2022 July 11, Kate Conger, Mike Isaac, “How Elon Musk Damaged Twitter and Left It Worse Off”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
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A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
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A barbel on a fish's face.
The barbel is so called […]by reason of his barbs, or wattles at his mouth.1653, Iz[aak] Wa[lton], The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing, […], London: […] T. Maxey for Rich[ard] Marriot, […], →OCLC; reprinted as The Compleat Angler (Homo Ludens; 6), Nieuwkoop, South Holland, Netherlands: Miland Publishers, 1969, →ISBN:
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Biology, Natural sciences, Ornithology One of the many side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.
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Biology, Ichthyology, Natural sciences, Zoology Any of various species of freshwater carp-like fish that have barbels and belong to the cyprinid family.
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US The sciaenid fish Menticirrhus americanus, found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
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Biology, Botany, Natural sciences A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
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.
His loftie steed with golden sell And goodly gorgeous barbes.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
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A plastic fastener, shaped roughly like a capital I (with serifs), used to attach socks etc. to their packaging.
Etymology PIE word *bʰardʰéh₂ From Middle English barbe, from Middle French barbe, from Old French barbe (“beard, beard-like element”). Doublet of beard.
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To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
[…] for this day will pour down, / If I conjecture aught, no drizzling shower, / But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 544–546:
Undoubtedly—when Ingratitude barbs the Dart of Injury—the wound has double danger in it—1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii:
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Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
Her coat was a tangled mass, barbed with last year's burs, matted disgustingly with cow dung.1944, Emily Carr, “Meg the Worker”, in The House of All Sorts:
O thou pale ſober night, / […] / The ſtooping Sitheman that dooth barbe the field, / Thou makſt winke ſure: […]c. 1603 (date written), Iohn Marston, The Malcontent, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for William Aspley, […], published 1604, →OCLC, Act III, scene ii:
Derived terms
rebarb
barb
noun
Etymology Clipping of Barbary.
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The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.
Why sends not the Bridegroom his promised gift, / Is his heart more cold, or his barb less swift?1813, Lord Byron, The Giaour, a Fragment of a Turkish Tale, 8th edition, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 34, lines 699–700:
However, in the last few years, the stud farms in Morocco and elsewhere in the world have rediscovered the qualities of the barb, which, in Berber tradition, remains the king of the "fantasias", a festival that is also becoming fashionable once again.2009 October, Laurent Roustan, “The Horse, Present since the Dawn of Time”, in Alphatrad Internationale, transl., Au Royaume du Cheval: Les Haras Nationaux du Maroc [In the Kingdom of the Horse: The National Studs of Morocco], Souyri, Aveyron, France: Editions Au fil du Temps, →ISBN:
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A blackish or dun variety of pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
barb
verb
Etymology Corruption of bard.
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To cover a horse in armor.
And now, in stead of mounting barbed steeds / To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, / He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber[…].c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], line 10:
Barb
noun
Etymology Clipping of Barbie, from Harajuku Barbie, an alter-ego of Nicki Minaj.
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Slang A fan of American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj.
Minaj is thrilled to be returning to her legion of Aussie Barbz this October in a brand new full-scale arena show.2012 August, “Forward Line”, in Inpress, number 1235, page 14:
I’m not a Barb, but Nicki Minaj totally made me do a 180 on the whole hating-her-songs-and-general-vibe thing I had going on when I went to review her in concert.2012 December 27, “The year in music”, in Fast Forward Weekly:
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Lambs and Barbz, remain calm, but Mariah Carey is once again talking about her infamous feud with Nicki Minaj.2013 January 9, “Mariah talks about Idol feud”, in Postnoon, page 28:
The benzos, it turns out, are just as highly addicting as the barbs, but they do have a much lower potential to cause death by overdose. […] The barbs became one of the most widely abused classes of drugs in the 1960s and 1970s.1998, Jerry Dorsman, How to Quit Drugs for Good: A Complete Self-Help Guide, New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, →ISBN, page 50:
barb
noun
Etymology Corruption of bard.
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Armor for a horse.
The defensive armor with the horses of the ancient knights ... These are frequently, though improperly, stiled barbs.1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 29: