barbette

English

Gun Diagram (barbette #8)

Etymology

Borrowed from French barbette.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑːˈbɛt/
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Noun

barbette (plural barbettes)

1. A mound of earth or a platform in a fortification, on which guns are mounted to fire over the parapet.
   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 276:

     Cleverly camouflaged with grey felt, which exactly matched the colour of the walls, it led upwards to a barbette, or platform, perched beside the gate.

2. (nautical) The inside fixed trunk of a warship's gun-mounting, on which the turret revolves. It contains the hoists for shells and cordite from the shell-room and magazine.

Derived terms

• barbette gun
• barbette carriage
• en barbette, in barbette

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French

Etymology

From barbe +‎ -ette.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baʁ.bɛt/

Noun

barbette f (plural barbettes)

1. (obsolete) small beard
2. (archaic) cowl
3. (fortifications) barbette

Further reading

• “barbette”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Noun

barbette f

1. plural of barbetta