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barbel Definition

bar·bel (bärbəl)

noun

  1. a threadlike growth from the lips or jaws of certain fishes: it is an organ of touch
  2. any of a genus (Barbus) of large, European, freshwater cyprinoid fishes with such growths

Etymology: ME & OFr < ML barbellus < L barbula, dim. of barbus < barba, beard

barbel Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • catch: He also caught four barbel over 5lb, the biggest 7lb 6oz.
  • hold: I slid gingerly down a dense bank of undergrowth to a spot where a deep slack on the inside might just hold a barbel.
  • land: After seeing Dad land a barbel both Joe and Tom wanted to catch one.
  • include: That catch included barbel, using the long trotting method with a centre-pin reel.
  • have: Fishing a warm and breezy evening, I had barbel from the second I settled my first cast.
  • produce: The next 3 hours produced 5 more barbel - my best return of the season.

Adjective modifier

  • double: Any of these venues offer the realistic prospect of a double figure barbel.
  • big: Records also showed that my bigger barbel had been caught during my first season's fishing.
  • large: In these sections where the water runs faster and is quite weedy in the summer months, lie the haunts of very large barbel.
  • small: The lower jaw of the haddock is slightly shorter than the upper jaw and the fish has a small single barbel.
  • first: Immediately I knew I was connected to my first barbel of the season.
  • good: A couple of hours passed with nothing until I managed to lose a good barbel in a snag, last cast.

Modifies a noun

  • angler: The biggest mistake most barbel anglers make is casting out too soon!
  • rod: The topic of new barbel rods had been lingering around over the course of the year.
  • fishing: Mail reporter Gary Newman claims his place in big barbel fishing 's elite!
  • bait: Also containing an in-depth breakdown, by John Baker, on the use of modern barbel baits.

Noun used with modifier

  • specimen: Specimen barbel of ten pounds or more are likely to be twenty years old.
  • figure: Any of these venues offer the realistic prospect of a double figure barbel.
  • double-figure: At the start of the river season I had my sights set on catching my first double-figure barbel.
  • record: Barbel stat attack: Size: The British record barbel is 19 lb 6 oz 8 dr. .