Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

1. barba, ae, f. [cf. O. H. Germ. part; Germ. Bart; Engl. beard].

  1. I. Lit., the beard, of men: alba, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 15: hirquina, id. Ps. 4, 2, 12: mollis, Lucr. 5, 673: promissa, long, Nep. Dat. 3, 1; Liv. 5, 41, 9; Tac. A. 2, 31; id. G. 31: immissa, Verg. A. 3, 593; Ov. M. 12, 351; Quint. 12, 3, 12: stiriaque inpexis induruit horrida barbis, Verg. G. 3, 366: submittere (as a sign of mourning). Suet. Caes. 67; id. Aug. 23; id. Calig. 24: prima, Juv. 8, 166: barbam tondere, Cic. Tusc. 5, 20, 58: maxima barba, id. Verr. 2, 2, 25, § 62: major, id. Agr. 2, 5, 13: ponere, Hor. A. P. 298; Suet. Calig. 5; 10; id. Ner. 12: jam libet hirsutam tibi falce recidere barbam, Ov. M. 13, 766: abradere, to clip off. Plin. 6, 28, 32, § 162; cf. Baumg.Crus. Suet. Caes. 45: rasitare, Gell. 3, 4: barbam vellere alicui, to pluck one by the beard (an insult), Hor. S. 1, 3, 133: sapientem pascere barbam, i. e. to study the Stoic philosophy, id. ib. 2, 3, 35; Pers. 1, 133; 2, 28: capillatior quam ante barbāque majore, Cic. Agr. 2, 5, 13; id. Verr. 2, 2, 25, § 62: in gens et cana barba, Plin. Ep. 1, 10, 6.
    Sometimes in plur. of a heavy, long beard, Petr. 99, 5; App. M. 4, p. 157, 1.
    The statues of the gods had barbas aureas, Cic. N. D. 3, 34, 83; hence, barbam auream habere = deum esse, Petr. 58, 6; cf. Pers. 2, 56.
    The ancient Romans allowed the beard to grow long (hence, barbati, Cic. Mur. 12; id. Cael. 14, 33; id. Fin. 4, 23, 62; Juv. 4, 103; and: dignus barbā capillisque Majorum, of an upright, honest man, Juv. 16, 31), until A.U.C. 454, when a certain P. Titinius Menas brought barbers to Rome from Sicily, and introduced the custom of shaving the beard, Varr R. R. 2, 11, 10; Plin. 7, 59, 59, § 211. Scipio Africanus was the first who caused himself to be shaved daily, Plin. 1. 1. Still, this custom seems to have become general first in the Aug. per.; cf. Boettig. Sabina, 2, p. 57 sq.; Goer. Cic. Fin. 4, 23, 62.
    Young men allowed the beard to grow for some years; hence. juvenes barbatuli or bene barbati (v. barbatulus and barbatus). It was the custom to devote the first beard cut off to some deity, esp. to Apollo, Jupiter, or Venus, Petr. 29; Juv. 3, 186; Suet. Ner. 12.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. Of animals: hircorum, Plin. 12, 17, 37, § 74: caprarum, id. 26, 8, 30, § 47: gallinaceorum, id. 30, 11, 29, § 97: luporum, Hor. S. 1, 8, 42.
    2. B. Of plants, the wool: nucum, Plin. 15, 22, 24, § 89; cf. id. 17, 23, 35, § 202.
    3. C. Barba Jovis, a shrub, the silver-leaved woolblade: Anthyllis barba Jovis, Linn.; Plin. 16, 18, 31, § 76.