(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
Between the two semi-domes the figure of a man rises above the wall to his middle, suggesting the existence of a barbette within.
From A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria, v. 1 by Armstrong, Walter, Sir
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
It was surrounded by low walls, on which were mounted some small guns en barbette.
From Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States by Semmes, Raphael
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
There was also the matter of raising a family, and Barbette said L.A. felt like the natural place to do that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2020
Hunt died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his wife, Barbette Hunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2020
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
“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
Newell of the Train to mount an artillery guard on Smith's Barbette, on Cobble Hill, of a Sergeant & 6 men.
From The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn by Johnston, Henry P.
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.
