| Barrel | n.[ OE. barel, F. baril, prob. fr. barre bar. Cf. Barricade. ] 1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads; as, a cracker barrel. Sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ] 2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 311/2 gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. A jar. [ Obs. ] 1 Kings xvii. 12. [ 1913 Webster ] 6. (Zool.) The hollow basal part of a feather. [ 1913 Webster ]
Barrel bulk (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic feet, used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight. --
Barrel drain (Arch.), a drain in the form of a cylindrical tube. --
Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical part of a boiler, containing the flues. --
Barrel of the ear (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic cavity. --
Barrel organ, an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving cylinder. --
Barrel vault. See under Vault. [ 1913 Webster ]
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| Barrelled | { } a. 1. Having a barrel; -- used in composition; as, a double-barreled gun. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. put in or stored in a barrel; ; as, barreled beer; -- opposite of unbarreled. [ WordNet 1.5 ] 3. tapered toward both ends; -- of an arrow. [ WordNet 1.5 ] Variants: Barreled |
| Barrel process | . (Metal.) A process of extracting gold or silver by treating the ore in a revolving barrel, or drum, with mercury, chlorine, cyanide solution, or other reagent. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ] |
| Barren | n. 1. A tract of barren land. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. pl. Elevated lands or plains on which grow small trees, but not timber; as, pine barrens; oak barrens. They are not necessarily sterile, and are often fertile. [ Amer. ] J. Pickering. [ 1913 Webster ] |
