Barbel, bärb′el, n. a fresh-water fish with beard-like appendages at its mouth. [O. Fr. barbel—Low L. barbellus—L. barba, a beard.]
Barber, bärb′ėr, n. one who shaves beards and dresses hair.—ns. Barb′er-mong′er (Shak.), a man decked out by his barber, a fop; Barb′er-sur′geon, one who let blood and drew teeth as well as shaved—the company of Barber-surgeons was incorporated in 1461, but by an act in 1545 barbers were confined to the more humble function.—Barber's block, a round block on which wigs are made; Barber's pole, the barber's sign in England, a pole striped spirally with alternate bands of colours, generally red or black and white, having often a brass basin hung at the end. [Fr.—L. barba, a beard.]
Barberry, bär′ber-i, n. a thorny shrub with yellow flowers and red berries, common in hedges. [Low L. berberis; the Ar. barbaris is borrowed.]
Barbette, bar-bėt′, n. an earthen terrace inside the parapet of a rampart, serving as a platform for heavy guns: in ironclad ships, a heavily armoured redoubt amidships. [Fr.]
Barbican, bär′bi-kan, n. a projecting watch-tower over the gate of a castle or fortified town, esp. the outwork intended to defend the drawbridge. [O. Fr. barbacane, also in Sp., Port., and It. forms; perh. of Ar. or Pers. origin. Col. Yule suggests bābkhānah, gate-house, name in the East for a towered gateway.]
Barbule, bärb′ūl, n. (bot.) a small barb or beard: a pointed barb-like process fringing the barbs of a feather. [See Barbel.]
Barcarolle, bär′ka-rōl, n. a boat-song of the Venetian gondoliers: a musical composition of a similar character. [It. barcaruolo, a boatman, from barca, a bark, a barge, a boat.]
Bard, bärd, n. a poet and singer among the ancient Celts: a poet—dims. Bard′ling, Bard′let, poetaster.—n. Bard′-craft (Browning).—adj. Bard′ic. [Gael. and Ir. bàrd.]
Barded, bärd′ed, adj. caparisoned, as horses.—n. Bard (obs.), the protective covering of a war-horse or a man-at-arms. [Fr. barde—Sp. albarda, pack-saddle, perh. from Ar. al-barda‛ah; al, the, and barda‛ah, mule's pack-saddle.]
Bare, bār, adj. uncovered: naked: open to view: poor, scanty: unadorned: (Shak.) unarmed: mere or by itself: (Shak.) paltry, desolate: empty: (Spens.) rude.—v.t. to strip or uncover.—adj. Bare′backed, with bare back: unsaddled.—n. Bare′bone (Shak.), a very lean person.—adj. Bare′faced, with the face uncovered: (Shak.) avowed: impudent.—adv. Bare′facedly.—n. Bare′facedness.—adjs. Bare′foot, -ed, having the feet bare, often of some monastic orders; Bare′-gnawn (Shak.), gnawed bare; Bare′headed, having the head bare; Bar′ish (Carlyle), somewhat bare; Bare′legged, having the legs bare.—adv. Bare′ly.—ns. Bare′ness; Bare′sark, a fierce Norse fighter, a berserker.—adv. in a shirt only. [A.S. bær; Ger. baar, bar; Ice. berr.]