(within a fortification) a platform or mound of earth from which guns may be fired over the parapet instead of through embrasures.
Navy. an armored cylinder for protecting the lower part of a turret on a warship.
(formerly) an earthen platform inside a parapet, from which heavy guns could fire over the top
an armoured cylinder below a turret on a warship that protects the revolving structure and foundation of the turret
1765–75; < French, equivalent to barbe beard + -ette -ette, probably from the general metaphorical use of barbe for something which protrudes or faces outward
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last came the ample habit-coat of heavy cloth, topped by a linen rochet and a stiffly starched barbette of cambric .
From Time Magazine Archive
The batteries of the bastions which were in barbette had not yet been finished.
From The Niagara River by Hulbert, Archer Butler
Inside this tube, which revolves with the gun platform, are "lifts," which hoist the shells up to the barbette.
From The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 2 (of 10) From the Battle of Mons to the Fall of Antwerp. by Parrott, James Edward
One two-hundred-pounder, thrown evidently from a barbette gun, had fallen with tremendous force upon the deck, bending, but not breaking or penetrating the iron.
From The Boys of '61 or, Four Years of Fighting, Personal Observations with the Army and Navy by Coffin, Charles Carleton
Even in the older days discussion had arisen freely on the relative merits of barbette and casemate mounting.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various
Hunt is survived by Barbette and their children Max Hunt, Daisy Hunt and Amy Hunt, as well as his brother George Hunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2020
“He got involved with a whole bunch of really awesome people out here who were doing exciting TV work,” remembered Barbette, his wife of 28 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2020
“I don’t think he missed one summer,” said Barbette, who worked at the festival as an apprentice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2020
Barbette Tweed's Cordelia is appropriately sweet and good; Patricia Elliott as Regan and Marilyn Lightstone as Goneril are properly serpentine.
From Time Magazine Archive
My visit to the Rue Barbette to-morrow morning may end quite satisfactorily.
From The Albert Gate Mystery Being Further Adventures of Reginald Brett, Barrister Detective by Tracy, Louis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
