B'ARB, noun [Latin barba; This is beard, with a different ending. The sense may be, that which shoots out.]

1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it; as the barb of a fish, the smaller claws of the polypus, etc.

2. The down, or pubes, covering the surface of some plants; or rather, a tuft or bunch of strong hairs terminating leaves.

3. Anciently, armor for horses; formerly, barbe or barde.

4. A common name of the barbary pigeon, a bird of a black or dun color.

5. A horse from Barbary, of which it seems to be a contraction.

6. The points that stand backward in an arrow, fish-hook or other instrument for piercing, intended to prevent its being extracted.

7. In botany, a straight process armed with teeth pointing backward like the sting of a bee. This is one sort of pubescence.