barbette
|bar-bet|
🇺🇸
/bɑrˈbɛt/
🇬🇧
/bɑːˈbɛt/
raised gun mount
Etymology
'barbette' originates from French, specifically the word 'barbette', where the root 'barbe' meant 'beard' and the diminutive suffix '-ette' indicated 'small' or 'little'.
'barbette' changed from Middle/Old French word 'barbette' (originally referring to a chin-strap or little beard-like piece) and was adopted into English from French usage; its sense broadened in military contexts to denote raised platforms and protective housings.
Initially it meant 'little beard' or a chin-strap-like piece, but over time it evolved into meanings related to 'a small projecting piece' and then into the military senses of 'raised gun platform' and 'armored gun housing'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a raised platform or emplacement on a fortification from which guns fire over a parapet (i.e., allowing guns to fire over the protective wall).
The fort's cannon were placed on a barbette so they could fire over the parapet.
Synonyms
Noun 2
an armored cylinder or protective upright structure on a warship that houses and protects the base or rotating mechanism of a gun mount (often contrasted with a full enclosed turret).
Early dreadnoughts had barbettes protecting the gun mounts before fully enclosed turrets became standard.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/14 14:48