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Barbel   Listen
noun
Barb  n.  
1.
Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it. "The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his mouth."
2.
A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners. (Obs.)
3.
pl. 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. (Written also barbel and barble)
4.
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."
5.
A bit for a horse. (Obs.)
6.
(Zool.) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane. See Feather.
7.
(Zool.) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; also improperly called whiting.
8.
(Bot.) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.



Barbel  n.  
1.
(Zool.) A slender tactile organ on the lips of certain fishes.
2.
(Zool.) A large fresh-water fish (Barbus vulgaris) found in many European rivers. Its upper jaw is furnished with four barbels.
3.
pl. Barbs or paps under the tongues of horses and cattle. See 1st Barb, 3.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Barbel" Quotes from Famous Books



... but must say I could never appreciate this so-called delicacy. The bones are of a very glutinous nature, and can be easily masticated, while the taste of a sterlet is something between that of a barbel and a perch, the muddy flavour of the former predominating. However, they are an expensive luxury, as, to be perfection for the table, they should be taken out of the water alive and put at once into the cooking-pot. The distance ...
— Russia - As Seen and Described by Famous Writers • Various

... fowl. The landlord is a quiet enthusiast in this Thames fishing. It is a pleasure to watch him at work, whether being rowed down on a hot summer day by one of his men, and casting a long line under the willows for chub, or hauling out big perch or barbel. All his tackle is exquisitely kept, as well kept as the yeoman's arrows and bow in the Canterbury Tales. His baits are arranged on the hook as neatly as a good cook sends up a boned quail. He gets all his worms from Nottingham. I notice ...
— The Naturalist on the Thames • C. J. Cornish



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