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Glite Dictionary
🎣 No sharp point 💬 Not hurtful
barbless

barbless

1 4.9
A hook that has no sharp backward point and makes it easier to release fish
  • adjective
  • /ˈbɑrbləs/
: sin anzuelo
  • The regulations allow only barbless hooks to be used in this river to promote sustainable fishing.
  • barbless hook
  • single barbless

Examples

  • "They had barbless hooks."

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The pole and line are of equal length (ca. 3 m) and are used with a barbless hook with feather skirts, which are slapped against the water until a fish strikes.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Many anglers prefer using barbless hooks to reduce harm to fish during catch and release.

  • I carefully removed the fish from the water, using a barbless hook to ensure it could be released unharmed.

Synonyms

hookless
vsbarbless
1 4.8

A thing like a curtain that does not have a small curved piece for hanging or holding

lacks the small backward-facing point while keeping the hook itself

Antonyms

barbed
54 4.4

A thing with sharp points like wire or animal spines that can hurt and catch on things

Surface Forms

barbless positive

Morphology

barbless = barb (transparent) = barb + less

The meaning is a straightforward combination of 'barb' plus '-less', indicating something that lacks a barb.

Etymology

Barbless comes from barb (from Latin barba meaning 'beard') and the ending -less meaning 'without'. A barb is like a small backward point on a hook, like a tiny beard, so a barbless hook is 'without that little beard' and is easier to remove from a fish.