Barmecide

[bahr-muh-sahyd]

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.

Origin of Barmecide

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for barmecide

Historical Examples of barmecide

But a banquet in which the plates only are good is but a Barmecide feast, after all.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 87, January, 1865
Various
Is it possible the Regenerator is, after all, more tantalizing than the Barmecide?
The Gastronomic Regenerator:
Alexis Soyer
My dear Barmecide friend, isn't it pleasant to be in such fine company?
The Newcomes
William Makepeace Thackeray
But one of them is always nailed; there is no escaping the Barmecide.
Unicorns
James Huneker
Accustomed to these regular Barmecide suggestions, Barker made no direct reply.
Selected Stories
Bret Harte

British Dictionary definitions for barmecide

Barmecide

Barmecidal

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