(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
King-yuen 04 — 008 Ping-yuen 2850 03 — 008 Armoured cruiser, 8-inch armour belt; 5 inches on barbette.
From Famous Sea Fights From Salamis to Tsu-Shima by Hale, John Richard
The cannon were well mounted, and placed in barbette and embrasure.
From Martyria or Andersonville Prison by Hamlin, Augustus C.
We found the enemy in earthworks on the edge of the river on the opposite bank, with quite a heavy fort on the hills back from the river, mounting three guns en barbette.
From Chickamauga, Useless, Disastrous Battle by Atkins, Smith D
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
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.
