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Origin and history of barb

barb(n.)

late 14c., "barb of an arrow," from Old French barbe "beard, beard-like appendage" (11c.), from Latin barba "beard," from Proto-Italic *farfa- "beard," which might be from a common PIE root *bhardhā- "beard" (source also of Old Church Slavonic brada, Russia boroda, Lithuanian barzda, Old Prussian bordus), but according to de Vaan the vowel "rather points to a non-IE borrowing into the European languages."

barb(v.)

late 15c., "to clip, mow" (a sense now archaic or obsolete); see barb (n.). The meaning "to fit or furnish with barbs" is from 1610s. Related: Barbed; barbing.

also from late 15c.

Entries linking to barb

barbed wire(n.)

also barb wire, "fencing wire with sharp edges or points," 1863, American English; see barb (n.) + wire (n.). Originally for the restraint of animals.

barber(n.)

"one whose occupation is to shave the beard and cut and dress the hair," c. 1300, from Anglo-French barbour (attested as a surname from early 13c.), from Old French barbeor, barbieor (13c., Modern French barbier, which has a more restricted sense than the English word), from Vulgar Latin *barbatorem, from Latin barba "beard" (see barb (n.)).

Originally also regular practitioners of minor surgery, they were restricted to hair-cutting, blood-letting, and dentistry under Henry VIII. The barber's pole (1680s) is in imitation of the ribbon used to bind the arm of one who has been bled.

rebarbative(adj.)

"repellent, unattractive," 1885, from French rébarbatif (14c.), from barbe "beard," from Latin barba (see barb (n.)). The usual theory is that it refers to the itchy, irritating quality of a beard.

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    Trends of barb

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    shaft
    "long, slender rod," originally "staff or pole forming the body of a spear or lance; spear-shaft," also, perhaps by synecdoche, "spear;" Middle English shafte, from Old English sceaft from Proto-Germanic *skaftaz (source also of Old Norse skapt, Old Saxon skaft, Old High German s
    slam
    "a severe blow," 1670s, probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian slamre, Swedish slemma "to slam, bang") of imitative origin. The meaning "a violent closing of a door" is from 1817. The meaning "an insult, put-down" is from 1884. Slam-bang (adv.) "suddenly, violentl
    dig
    c. 1200, diggen, "to make a ditch or other excavation," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps related to dike and ditch, either via Anglo-French diguer, from Old French digue "dike" (which is ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dīk-, from PIE root *dheigw- "to stick, fix") or directly
    tag
    a garment," c. 1400, of uncertain origin but probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian tagg "point, prong, barb...
    gloss
    from PIE *glogh- "thorn, point, that which is projected" (source also of Old Church Slavonic glogu "thorn," Greek glokhis "barb...
    nave
    "main part of a church," the middle part, lengthwise, extending typically from the main entrance to the choir or chancel, 1670s, from Medieval Latin navem (nominative navis) "nave of a church," a special use of Latin navis "ship" (from PIE root *nau- "boat"), on some fancied rese
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),
    modify
    late 14c., modifien, "alter, amend, adjust, change the properties, form, or function of;" also "set limits, keep within the bounds of reason; choose a middle course," from Old French modifier (14c.), from Latin modificare "to limit, measure off, restrain," from modus "measure, ma
    remark
    1630s, "to mark out, distinguish," a sense now obsolete, modeled on French remarquer "to mark, note, heed," formed in French from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + marquer "to mark," which probably is from Frankish or another Germanic source such as Old High Germ
    marker
    Old English mearcere "writer, notary" (glossing Latin notarius "clerk"), literally "one who marks," agent noun from mark (v.). Not found again until late 15c., hence modern use is perhaps a separate formation. Meaning "monument stone" is from 1888. Sense of "tool for marking" is

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    Dictionary entries near barb
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