Barb vs Silly - What's the difference?
barb | silly |
The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
* :
(figuratively) A hurtful or disparaging remark.
A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
*
Armor for a horse, corrupted from bard.
* 1786 , Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons , page 29:
(ornithology) One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.
(zoology) Several species of freshwater fish of the cyprinid family.
(zoology) A southern name for the kingfishes of the eastern and southeastern coasts of the United States; also improperly called whiting.
(botany) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
(zoology) A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
(obsolete) A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners.
Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.]
(obsolete) A bit for a horse.
A plastic fastener, shaped roughly like a capital I (with serifs), used to attach socks etc. to their packaging.
To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
*:But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire.
*
*:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed , and that was a little beyond our skill.
To cover a horse in armor, corrupted from bard.
*1592 , (William Shakespeare), , Act I, Scene I, line 10:
*:And now, in stead of mounting barbed steeds / To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, / He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber.
(lb) To shave or dress the beard of.
(lb) To clip; to mow.
:(Marston)
The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.
A blackish or dun variety of pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
(label) Pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.
* 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , I.vi:
* (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
* (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
(label) Simple, unsophisticated, ordinary; rustic, ignorant.
* 1633 , (John Donne), "Sapho to Philænis":
* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
* (John Milton) (1608-1674)
Foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom; frivolous, trifling.
Irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors.
Semiconscious, witless.
(label) Of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short.
Simple, not intelligent, unrefined.
* {{quote-book, year=1935, author=
, title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1
, passage=“Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke
(label) Happy; fortunate; blessed.
(label) Harmless; innocent; inoffensive.
* (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
* Robynson (More's Utopia)
(colloquial) A silly person; a fool.
(colloquial) A mistake.
In obsolete terms the difference between barb and silly
is that barb is to clip; to mow while silly is harmless; innocent; inoffensive.As nouns the difference between barb and silly
is that barb is the point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else while silly is a silly person; a fool.As a verb barb
is to furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.As a proper noun Barb
is a diminutive of the female given name Barbara.As an adjective silly is
pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.barb
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl)Noun
(en noun)- Having two barbs or points.
- The barbel, so called by reason of his barbs, or wattles in his mouth.
- The defensive armor with the horses of the ancient knights ... These are frequently, though improperly, stiled barbs .
- (Spenser)
Verb
Etymology 2
From , by shorteningNoun
(en noun)See also
* (wikipedia "barb") *Anagrams
* * English terms with multiple etymologies ----silly
English
Adjective
(er)- A silly man, in simple weedes forworne, / And soild with dust of the long dried way; / His sandales were with toilesome trauell torne, / And face all tand with scorching sunny ray
- After long storms with which my silly bark was tossed sore.
- The silly buckets on the deck.
- For, if we justly call each silly man'' / A ''little island , What shall we call thee than?
- A fourth man, in a silly habit.
- All that did their silly thoughts so busy keep.
George Goodchild
- (Chaucer)
- The silly virgin strove him to withstand.
- A silly , innocent hare murdered of a dog.