barbicel

American

[bahr-buh-sel] / ˈbɑr bəˌsɛl /

noun

Ornithology.

one of the minute processes fringing the barbules of certain feathers.

barbicel British

/ ˈbɑːbɪˌsɛl /

noun

ornithol any of the minute hooks on the barbules of feathers that interlock with those of adjacent barbules

"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 barbicel

1865–70; < New Latin barbicella, equivalent to Latin barbi- (combining form of barba beard) + -cella diminutive suffix

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