Word: barrel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Old French barilbor. Middle English barel English barrel From Middle English barel, from Anglo-Norman baril, Old French baril, bareil (“barrel”), of uncertain origin. An attempt to link baril to Old French barre (“bar, bolt”) (compare Medieval Latin barra (“bar, rod”)) via assumed Vulgar Latin *barrīculum meets the phonological requirement, but fails to connect the word semantically. The alternative connection to Frankish *baril, *beril or Gothic *𐌱𐌴𐍂𐌹𐌻𐍃 (*bērils, “container for transport”), from Proto-Germanic *barilaz, *bērilaz (“barrel, jug, container”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, transport”), is more plausible as it connects not only the form of the word but also the sense; equivalent to bear + -le. Compare also Old High German biril (“jug, large pot”), Luxembourgish Bärel, Bierel (“jug, pot”), Old Norse berill (“barrel for liquids”), Old English byrla (“barrel of a horse, trunk, body”). More at bear. Pronunciation: /ˈbæɹ(ə)l/, [ˈbæɹəɫ], /ˈbæɹəl/, /ˈbɛɚəl/, /ˈbɛɹəl/ 1. A round (cylindrical) vessel, such as a cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends (heads). The word is sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum. Labels: countable Example: Near-synonym: cask Example: a cracker barrel 2. A round (cylindrical) vessel, such as a cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends (heads). The word is sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum. Labels: countable Example: Barrels came in firkins, nine gallons; kilderkins, eighteen gallons; halves, twenty-seven gallons; barrels, thirty-six gallons and hogsheads, fifty-four. 3. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel: the volume or weight this represents varies by local law and custom. Example: Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126 gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a rundlet 18.5 gallons. Example: 23 Hen. VIII, cap. 4... The barrel of beer is to hold 36 gallons, the kilderkin 18 gallons the firkin 9. But the barrel, kilderkin, and firkin of ale are to contain 32, 16, and 8 gallons. 4. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case Example: the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled. 5. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged. Example: You're shooting stars from the barrel of your eyes 6. A venturi (in carburetion). 7. A ceiling-mounted tube from which lights are suspended. Example: Moreover, it adds to difficulties in adjusting/servicing lamps located over high scenery, ceilings etc., where the barrel networks cannot be lowered or reached. Example: The barrel, which is usually from 2.0 m to 2.5 m long, and capable of lifting loads up to 120 kg, is suspended from the main housing which contains the motor gearbox unit, etc. 8. Any tube. Labels: archaic 9. The hollow basal part of a feather. 10. The part of a clarinet which connects the mouthpiece and upper joint, and resembles a barrel. 11. A wave that breaks with a hollow compartment. 12. A waste receptacle. Labels: New-England, US, specifically Example: Throw it into the trash barrel. 13. The ribs and belly of a horse or pony. 14. A jar. Labels: obsolete Example: And ſhe ſaid, As the Lord thy God liueth, I haue not a cake, but an handfull of meale in a barrell, and a little oyle in a cruſe: [...] 15. Any of the dark-staining regions in the somatosensory cortex of rodents, etc., where somatosensory inputs from the contralateral side of the body come in from the thalamus. 16. A statistic derived from launch angle and exit velocity of a ball hit in play. Example: For quotations using this term, see Citations:barrel.