barbwiren.
/ˌbɑːbˈwʌɪə/, U.S. /ˌbɑrbˈwaɪ(ə)r/ Chiefly North American.
= barbed wire n. 1.In quot. 1874: a piece of wire forming one of the barbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > hedge or fence > a fence > wire fence > fencing-wire
barbed wire1874
barbwire1874
wire1876
fencing-wire1878
fish-hook wire1892
bob-wire1929
razor ribbon1975
1874 J. F. Glidden & P. W. Vaughan Patent No. 157,508 (U.S. Patent & Trademark Office) 1/1 When a barb-wire is adjusted in its place, and a stroke given to the toothed segment, the barb-wire will be wound several turns on the fence-wire.
1877 Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-eye 8 Feb. The Joliet barb wire..manufactured at DeKalb.
1883 J. Scott Farm Roads 88 Barb wire fencing should consist of at least two barbs, used in connection with two wires twisted together.
1939 Times 10 Apr. 15/5 Barb wire, the bane of the foxhunter, but an economic servant of the farmer, is fast displacing the hedgerow.
1976 G. Ryga Night Desk viii. 99 Like a hungry crow on a barbwire fence, she's waitin'.
2003 High Country News 18 Aug. 6/2 They tend to avoid forests and thick brush, and are unwilling to jump fences, though they can duck under barbwire with an effortless downshift.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1874