Barmecide

[ bahr-muh-sahyd ]

/ ˈbɑr məˌsaɪd /

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noun

a member of a noble Persian family of Baghdad who, according to a tale in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, gave a beggar a pretended feast with empty dishes.

adjective

Barmecidal.

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Origin of Barmecide

<Persian Barmekī family name, literally, offspring of Barmek, with -ide-id¹ for Persian -ī<Arabic

Words nearby Barmecide

barmaid, barman, barmbrack, barm cake, Barmecidal, Barmecide, Barmen, bar mitzvah, barmy, barn, Barnabas

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use Barmecide in a sentence

A sort of Barmecide feast, but I assure you it is very nice with bread or crackers and butter.
A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery|Juliet Corson
Were the wit and poesy and knowledge the successive desserts, and bright gossip the sparkle of the Barmecide wine?
A Little Girl of Long Ago|Amanda Millie Douglas
For a hungry guest to take this tantalization in good part, was the sure way to win the esteem of the noble Barmecide.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 55, No. 340, February, 1844|Various
But if the "call" was a Barmecide call, there was another act open to the congregation which was not so.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 55, No. 340, February, 1844|Various

They fed like school-boys home for Thanksgiving, in haste lest the present banquet, too good to be true, prove Barmecide.
Mount Rainier|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Barmecide

Barmecide

Barmecidal

/ (ˈbɑːmɪˌsaɪd) /

adjective

lavish or plentiful in imagination only; illusory; shama Barmecide feast

Word Origin for Barmecide

C18: from the name of a prince in The Arabian Nights who served empty plates to beggars, alleging that they held sumptuous food

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