Barbette
/bɑːrˈbɛt/noun
A low protective wall or earthen mound for mounting guns, or a broad band of ribbon tied under the chin in older women’s dress.
Did you know?Barbette entered English through French military vocabulary, where it referred to a raised platform or parapet for guns, and the same root family also gave English words tied to beards and bristles.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰardʰ-
“A root associated with beard or bristly hair”
Latin
Latin
barba
“Beard”
Old French
Old French
barbette
“A little beard; later, a raised military platform or protective parapet”
16th Century
French
barbette
“A fortification allowing guns to fire over a parapet”
17th Century
English
barbette
“A gun position or mounting behind a parapet”
Modern English
English
barbette
“A low protective wall for artillery, or a ribbon band worn under the chin”