barbule
(ˈbɑːbjuːl)
[ad. L. barbula; see prec.]
1. = barbel 2. (So in med.L.)
| 1848 S. Maunder Treas. Nat. Hist. Gloss., Barbules, filamentous appendages..attached to the mouths of certain fishes. 1872 Baker Nile Tribut. ix. 146 This fish has four long barbules in the upper jaw. |
2. One of the series of pointed, and sometimes serrated or hooked, processes, fringing the barbs of a feather, and filling up the space between them.
| 1835 Todd Cycl. Anat. & Phys. I. 350/2 The barbules are given off from either side of the barbs. 1869 Gillmore Rept. & Birds Introd. 185 These smaller filaments are the barbules, by means of which the barbs are retained in position. |
3. Bot. = barbula 2.
| 1881 in Syd. Soc. Lex. |