Barbelled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Having fleshy, whisker-like filaments growing near the mouth, as certain fish such as carp and catfish do
2. Describing a fish that bears slender sensory tendrils around its mouth, used to probe the bottom for food
3. Equipped with the fleshy feelers that hang from the jaws of some freshwater fish and help them find food

Etymology: Barbel, the name of a freshwater fish, comes from Latin "barba," meaning "beard," through the diminutive "barbellus," or "little beard." The fish is named for the short, whisker-like feelers that hang from its lips, which look like a bearded chin. Those feelers are the "barbels" of the fish, and anatomists use the same word for similar filaments on other animals. "Barbelled" is the past form of a verb built directly from that noun. It describes something that has these filaments, so a catfish or a goatfish could be described as barbelled. Because the verb is formed by adding a regular ending to the noun, its meaning follows from the fish's whiskers rather than from any separate history of its own.