barb 1
/bahrb/ , n.
1. a point or pointed part projecting backward from a main point, as of a fishhook or arrowhead. See illus. under fishhook .
2. an obviously or openly unpleasant or carping remark.
3. Bot. , Zool. a hooked or sharp bristle.
4. Ornith. one of the processes attached to the rachis of a feather. See illus. under 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 . Vet. Pathol. 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. Obs. a beard.
v.t.
10. to furnish with a barb or barbs.
[ 1300-50; ME barbe barba BEARD or beardlike projection ]
Syn. 1. spur, spike, prong, barbule; snag, prickle, spicule.
barb 2
/bahrb/ , n.
one of a breed of horses raised originally in Barbary.
[ 1630-40; barbe, shortened form of It barbero Barbary steed, equiv. to Barber ( ia ) Barbary + -o masc. n. suffix ]
barb 3
/bahrb/ , n. Slang.
barbiturate.
[ by shortening ]