barbed

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
barb1

▶noun

• 1 a sharp projection near the end of an arrow, fish hook, or similar object, which is angled away from the main point so as to make extraction difficult.

• 2 a deliberately hurtful remark.

• 3 a barbel at the mouth of some fish.

  ■ one of the fine hair-like filaments growing from the shaft of a feather, forming the vane.

• 4 a freshwater fish with barbels around the mouth, popular in aquaria. [Barbus pentazona and other species.]

– derivatives
barbed adjective,
barbless adjective.

– origin ME (denoting a piece of linen worn around the chin by nuns): from OFr. barbe, from L. barba ‘beard’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
barb2

▶noun a small horse of a hardy breed originally from North Africa.

– origin C17: from Fr. barbe, from Ital. barbero ‘of Barbary’.