barbet

noun

"barbet" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“barbet” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of numerous arboreal birds of the families Capitonidae, Lybiidae, and Megalaimidae, within the order Piciformes.

Key facts for barbet
PropertyValue
Headwordbarbet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “barbet” sits in English frequency

barbet falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

barbet is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for barbet in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French barbe (“beard; long hair of certain animals”). The correct English form is barbet, spelled B-A-R-B-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of numerous arboreal birds of the families Capitonidae, Lybiidae, and Megalaimidae, within the order Piciformes.
  2. 2
    A dog of a small-bodied breed with long curly hair.

Etymology

From French barbe (“beard; long hair of certain animals”).

Synonyms

French Water Dog

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "barbet"?
"barbet" is spelled B-A-R-B-E-T.
What does "barbet" mean?
As a noun, "barbet" means: Any of numerous arboreal birds of the families Capitonidae, Lybiidae, and Megalaimidae, within the order Piciformes.
What is the origin of the word "barbet"?
From French barbe (“beard; long hair of certain animals”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “barbet”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-A-R-B-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list