barbel

Meanings

1. A freshwater fish of the genus Barbus or other closely related taxa in the cyprinid family.
2. A barb or pap under the tongue of a cow or horse.
3. A whisker-like sensory organ, located around the mouth of certain fish, including carp, catfish, goatfish, sturgeon, and some types of shark.

Etymology

PIE word *bʰardʰéh₂ From Middle English barbel, from Old French barbel, from Vulgar Latin *barbellus, from Late Latin barbulus, diminutive of Latin barbus (“barbel”); barbus itself is from barba (“beard”). By surface analysis, Latin barb(us) (“beard, barbel”) + -el (diminutive suffix), and also, by surface analysis, barb (“sharp, extruding structure”) + -el (diminutive suffix).