barbu

Forms

barbu (feminine barbue, masculine plural barbus, feminine plural barbues)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *barbūtus (“bearded”), a remaking of the classical Latin barbātus (“bearded, hairy”) with the suffix -ūtus in place of -ātus,^[2][3][4] from barba (“beard”).^[5][3] The suffix ⟨-ūtus⟩ was especially common in adjectives for parts of the body.^[2] French speakers feel it as a derivative of barbe.^[3][1]

Cognate with Italian barbuto, Spanish barbudo and Old Occitan barbut.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dated record is from 1213, in the Faits des Romains, meaning “bearded”.^[7][5] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it as early as the third quarter of the 12th century.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Barbu replaced the older Old French barbé (about 1080), itself formed on barbe.^[3][4][6] By extension it was said of animals with beard-like tufts (once at the end of the 13th century, again from 1842), of objects with filaments (1508–1517), and especially of a comet (1690), a use now gone, then of plants bearing awns (1803).^[3]

As a noun it first named the lay brothers of the Grandmont and Cîteaux orders, who wore full beards (1721), then any bearded man (1801).^[3] In recent use les barbus are Islamist militants, a common sense in the French of the Maghreb, and in slang le barbu is the pubic hair, the female sex.^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1213 – First dated record, in the Faits des Romains.^[7][5]
• Late 13th century – Used once of an animal.^[3]
• 1508–1517 – Said of objects with filaments.^[3]
• 1690 – Said of a comet.^[3]
• 1721 – As a noun, the bearded lay brothers of Grandmont and Cîteaux.^[3]
• 1801 – As a noun, any bearded man.^[3]
• 1803 – Said of plants with awns.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having a beard, bearded.^[9][10]
2. Covered with filaments or awns: blé barbu.^[9][10]
3. Covered with mould.^[7]

Noun

1. A bearded man.^[9][10]
2. An Islamist militant.^[9][3]
3. A barbet, a brightly coloured tropical bird of the order Piciformes.^[9][11]
4. A card game played in series of deals, each with its own rules.^[11]

Word family

• barbue

Related words

• barbe
• Latin barba

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)