Barmecide

American  

[bahr-muh-sahyd] / ˈbɑr məˌsaɪd /

noun

1. 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.

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adjective

1. Barmecidal.

Barmecide British  

/ ˈbɑːmɪˌsaɪd /

adjective

1. lavish or plentiful in imagination only; illusory; sham

   a Barmecide feast

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Etymology

Origin of Barmecide

< Persian Barmekī family name, literally, offspring of Barmek, with -ide -id ¹ for Persian -ī < Arabic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Barmecide

The latter piece, titled “The Barmecide Feast,” is well built — down to the corny Late Empire porcelains employed as backdrop on the luminous white set.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2017

Schacabac went in, and passed through many beautiful rooms, looking for the Barmecide.

From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by Baldwin, James

It was the Barmecide; and poor Schacabac bowed low before him, as was the custom in that country.

From Fifty Famous Stories Retold by Baldwin, James

Everything tastes so desiccated and deodorized, the mere shadow of really substantial viands, a veritable feast of Barmecide.

From In Jeopardy by Sutphen, Van Tassel

The only Barmecide who remained unmolested with his family was Mahommed the brother of Yahyā, who had been the chamberlain of the caliph till 795, when Fadl b.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1 "Calhoun" to "Camoens" by Various