garb feathersn.
Apparently a misreading of barb feathers (see barb n.1 2) in a passage from the Book of St Albans (see quot. 1486).
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1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. bj The federis vnder the beke be calde the barbe federis.]
1676 E. Coles Eng. Dict. Garbe feders, the Feathers under a hawks beak.
1846 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I Garb-feathers, the feathers under the bill of a hawk.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1676