Synonyms

barbellate

American

[bahr-buh-leyt, bahr-bel-it, -eyt] / ˈbɑr bəˌleɪt, bɑrˈbɛl ɪt, -eɪt /

adjective

Botany, Zoology.

having short, stiff hairs.

barbellate British

/ bɑːˈbɛlɪt, ˈbɑːbɪˌleɪt, -eɪt /

adjective

(of plants or plant organs) covered with barbs, hooks, or bristles
(of animals) possessing bristles or barbels

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of barbellate

1840–50; < New Latin barbell ( a ), diminutive of Latin barbula little beard ( barbule, -elle ) + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Pappus plumose or only barbellate.

From Project Gutenberg

Characters as in Kuhnia; involucral scales more numerous, and the bristles of the pappus merely scabrous or at the most barbellate or subplumose; leaves often all opposite.

From Project Gutenberg

Barbellate with diminutive hairs or barbs.

From Project Gutenberg

Barbellate, said of the bristles of the pappus of some Composit� when beset with short, stiff hairs, longer than when denticulate, but shorter than when plumose.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023