An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Barte
Barte (1.), feminine, ‘broad axe,’ from the equivalent Middle High German barte, Old High German barta, feminine; in Bavarian-Suabian the word, which is properly North German, does not occur; allied to Old Dutch and Old Saxon barda, Old Icelandic barða (Old French barde, ‘hatchet,’ is borrowed from Teutonic). From this word Old Slovenian brady, feminine, ‘axe,’ is borrowed. The words are derivatives of the stem bhardh- appearing in Bart; the axe is, as it were, ‘the bearded thing,’ Old Icelandic skeggja, ‘broad axe,’ being related in a similar way to ‘beard’; likewise Middle English barbe (from Latin-Romance barba) signifies, among other things, ‘edge of the axe.’ Compare Hellebarde.
Barte (2.), feminine, ‘baleen,’ a derivative of Bart, first occurring in Modern High German, and akin to Barte; compare English barbs, from Latin barba; Dutch baarden, plural.