n. [ OE. bern, AS. berern, bern; bere barley + ern, ærn, a close place. √92. See Barley. ] A covered building used chiefly for storing grain, hay, and other productions of a farm. In the United States a part of the barn is often used for stables. [ 1913 Webster ]

Barn owl (Zool.), an owl of Europe and America (Aluco flammeus, or Strix flammea), which frequents barns and other buildings. --
Barn swallow (Zool.), the common American swallow (Hirundo horreorum), which attaches its nest of mud to the beams and rafters of barns. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To lay up in a barn. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men . . . often barn up the chaff, and burn up the grain. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A child. See Bairn. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Eccl. Hist.) A member of a religious order, named from St. Barnabas. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prob. from E. barnacle a kind of goose, which was popularly supposed to grow from this shellfish; but perh. from LL. bernacula for pernacula, dim. of perna ham, sea mussel; cf. Gr. pe`rna ham. Cf. F. bernacle, barnacle, E. barnacle a goose; and Ir. bairneach, barneach, limpet. ] (Zool.) Any cirriped crustacean adhering to rocks, floating timber, ships, etc., esp. (a) the sessile species (genus Balanus and allies), and (b) the stalked or goose barnacles (genus Lepas and allies). See Cirripedia, and Goose barnacle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Barnacle eater (Zool.), the orange filefish. --
Barnacle scale (Zool.), a bark louse (Ceroplastes cirripediformis) of the orange and quince trees in Florida. The female scale curiously resembles a sessile barnacle in form. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Bernicle. ] A bernicle goose. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. bernak, bernacle; cf. OF. bernac, and Prov. F. (Berri) berniques, spectacles. ] 1. pl. (Far.) An instrument for pinching a horse's nose, and thus restraining him. [ Formerly used in the sing. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The barnacles . . . give pain almost equal to that of the switch. Youatt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. Spectacles; -- so called from their resemblance to the barnacles used by farriers. [ Cant, Eng. ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. covered with barnacles. the barnacled hull of a wrecked ship [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ So called in allusion to the fable of the man who burned his barn in order to rid it of rats. ] 1. A member of the radical section of the Democratic party in New York, about the middle of the 19th century, which was hostile to extension of slavery, public debts, corporate privileges, etc., and supported Van Buren against Cass for president in 1848; -- opposed to Hunker. [ Political Cant, U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. an impressively successful or unusually good event. [ informal ] ”The rock concert was a real barnburner.” [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. An opaque adjustable flap on a lamp fixture; used in photography to cut off light from particular areas. [ WordNet 1.5 ]