Rebarbative is an adjective that means irritating or repellent. Its etymology traces back to French and Latin words associated with a beard, possibly implying something abrasive or off-putting.
Rebarbative is an adjective meaning irritating or repellent, with roots in French and Latin related to a beard or something that repels.
| Front | rebarbative \ree-BAR-buh-tiv\ |
|---|---|
| Back | adjective Irritating; repellent. [From French rebarbative (offputting), feminine form of rebarbatif, from rebarber (to be repellent), from barbe (beard), from Latin barba (beard). Are bearded people irritating? While some find a beard on a man attractive, literally speaking it could be like barbed wire - repelling - for others. In fact, the words barb, barber, and beard are derived from the same root as today's word.] "From cosy Whitelaw to rebarbative Ingham, there are now over a dozen versions of the Thatcher decade by Thatcher's servants." - Catherine Bennett; Tales From the Book Cabinet; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 1, 1993. "As Nixon and the boy who would one day become his rebarbative five o'clock shadow both understood, football is simply war by other means." - Bruce Newman; Oliver Stone Goes to War Again, With Cleats On; The New York Times; Nov 14, 1999. |
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