Barmecide

[ bahr-muh-sahyd ]

/ ˈbɑr məˌsaɪd /

Save This Word!

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.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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. 2023

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