barbule

[ bahr-byool ]

noun

a small barb.
any of the small processes fringing the barbs of a feather.

Origin of barbule

From the Latin word barbula, dating back to 1825–35. See barb¹, -ule

Words Nearby barbule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use barbule in a sentence

She stroked her own smooth cheek, and carolled out, "What a pretty barbule!"
Spanish Vistas | George Parsons Lathrop
Each barbule bears many fine barbicels and hamuli or hooklets.
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition | Vernon L. Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for barbule

barbule

/ (ˈbɑːbjuːl) /

noun

a very small barb
ornithol any of the minute hairs that project from a barb and in some feathers interlock by hooks and grooves, forming a flat vane

Origin of barbule

C19: from Latin barbula a little beard, from barba beard

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

Scientific definitions for barbule

barbule

[ bär′byōōl ]

A small barb or pointed projection, especially one that fringes the edges of the barbs of feathers.

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