B'ARB, n. L.barba This is beard, with a different ending. The sense may be, that which shoots out.
1. Beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it as the barb of a fish, the smaller claws of the polypus,&c.
2. The down, or pubes, covering the surface of some plants or rather, a tuft or bunch of strong hairs terminating leaves.
3. Anciently, armor for horses formerly, barbe or barde.
4. A common name of the barbary pigeon, a bird of a black or dun color.
5. A horse from Barbary, of which it seems to be a contraction.
6. The points that stand backward in an arrow, fish-hook or other instrument for piercing, intended to prevent its being extracted.
7. In botany, a straight process armed with teeth pointing backward like the sting of a bee. This is one sort of pubescence.
The King James Bible has stood its ground for nearly 400 years. However, during that time the English language has changed, and with it the meanings of some words it used. Here are more than 6,500 words whose definitions have changed since 1611.Wikipedia
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