"B" Word Origins

baritone

Origin

From Italian baritono, from Ancient Greek βαρύτονος (barútonos), from βαρύς (barús, “heavy”) + τόνος (tónos, “tone”). Doublet of baryton and barytone.

barium

Origin · 1808

Coined in 1808 by the chemist Humphry Davy, from "baryta" (an older name for barium oxide) plus the chemical suffix "-ium."

bark

Old English

From Old English beorcan ("to bark"), an ancient Germanic word related to sounds of growling or droning; the tree-covering sense is a separate, unrelated word borrowed from Old Norse.

barkeep

Origin

A shortened form of "barkeeper," combining "bar" and "keep."

barkeeper

Origin

From bar + keeper.

barker

Origin

From "bark" (to make loud noise) plus the agent suffix "-er."

barking

Middle English

From Middle English berkyng, berkande, equivalent to bark + -ing.

Barkley

Origin

Variant of Berkeley.

barley

Old English

From Old English bærlīċ, originally an adjective meaning "barley-like," ultimately from a very old root related to "spike" or "prickle" — describing the grain's bristly seed head.

barleycorn

Origin

From barley + corn.

Barlow

Origin

Named after the English optician who invented the lens design; the word also survives as a common English surname.

barmaid

Origin

Simply "bar" plus "maid" — a woman who works at a bar.

barman

Origin

From "bar" plus "-man" — a man who works at a bar.

barmy

Origin

Originally described something full of "barm," the foam that forms on fermenting beer — the sense shifted from "frothy, bubbling" to "excitable" and eventually to "crazy."

barn

Old English

From Old English berern, a compound of "bere" (barley) and "ærn" (a building) — literally a "barley house."

Barnabas

Aramaic

From Aramaic, meaning "son of encouragement" or "son of consolation".

Barnaby

Aramaic

The given name Barnaby comes from Barnabas, ultimately from Aramaic bar nəḇiyyā, "son of a prophet."

barnacle

Medieval Latin

Origin uncertain and long debated; likely traces through Old French and Medieval Latin back to a Celtic word for rock, since barnacles cling to rocky surfaces.

Barnard

German

English, Dutch, and French surname, variant of Bernard. This sense is also found in Slavic borrowings (Polish, Slovenian, Czech). Also Americanized from German Bernhard, Bernhardt, of the same meaning.

Barnes

Old Norse

* As an English surname, from the place on the bank of the Thames, derived from the root of the noun barn. * Also as an English surname, variant of Barne, from both a Middle English personal name from Old Norse Bjǫrn and Old English Beorn, and from the noun barn (“child”). Semantically compare Child. * As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Bearáin (literally “descendant of Bearán”), a byname from bior (“spear”). * As a French surname, variant of Bernes, from a short form of a Germanic name derived from Frankish *berō (“bear”), similar to Bernhard. * As a Jewish surname, variant of Parnes, from Yiddish פּרנס (prns), from Hebrew פַּרְנָס (“leader of a Jewish community, provider”).

Barney

Old English

Origin uncertain — possibly from the Old English personal name Bera, or from a word meaning "grown with barley."

barnie

Origin

From barn + -ie.

barnyard

Origin

A straightforward compound of "barn" and "yard."

barometer

Greek · 1665

Coined in 1665 by the scientist Robert Boyle from Greek roots meaning "weight" and "measure," to name the instrument Torricelli had invented about twenty years earlier.

baron

Latin

From Old French baron, from Latin barō, likely from a Germanic root meaning "man" or "warrior" — the same root that may lie behind Old English beorn, meaning "warrior."

baroness

Middle English

From Middle English baronesse, built from baron plus the feminine ending -ess.

baronetess

Origin

From baronet + -ess.

Baroque

French · 1600

From French baroque, originally describing an irregularly shaped pearl, likely from Portuguese barroco. Over time it came to describe the ornate, dramatic art style of the 1600s and 1700s, and eventually anything excessively elaborate.

barr

French

From French barrir (“to trumpet; to make the sound of an elephant”), from Old French barrire, from Late Latin barriō, from Latin barrus (“elephant”).

barra

Origin

Clipping of barramundi.

barrack

French

Borrowed from French baraque, itself from Spanish or Catalan barraca, of uncertain earlier origin.

barracuda

Latin · 1670

Borrowed in the 1670s from Latin American Spanish barracuda, possibly from a Caribbean indigenous language.

barrage

French · 1859

Borrowed from French barrage ("barrier"), related to barrier, around 1859.

barred

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

barrel

Middle English

From Middle English barel, via Anglo-Norman baril, of uncertain deeper origin — possibly linked to a Germanic word for a storage container, or to "bear" in the sense of carrying something.

barrelhouse

Origin

From barrel + house. Originally used to refer specifically to a bar that served whiskey directly from the barrel.

barren

Germanic

From Anglo-Norman baraigne ("sterile"), probably from a Germanic root related to "bare."

barret

Late Latin

From French barrette, tracing back to Late Latin barretum ("a cap").

Barrett

Old English

From the Irish surname converged from several origins, including Barόid, Bairéid, Middle English Baraud (“quarrelsome”) from Old English, and Norman Baraud, from Old French barat (“trickery, deception”).

barrette

Origin

Borrowed from French barrette, from barre (“a bar”) + -ette, literally a small bar.

barricade

French

Borrowed from French barricade, related to barrique ("barrel") — barrels were often used to build early street barriers.

barrier

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman barrere, ultimately from barre ("bar").

Barrington

Norman

* As an English surname, from several placenames, such as the one in Gloucestershire, from the Old English personal name Beorn + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”). There is also the placename in Somerset of Norman origin, probably named after Barentin in Seine-Maritime, from Medieval Latin Barentinum, Barentini, of pre-Latin origin, perhaps of Celtic/Gaulish origin and identical with Barenton, both names from a Gaulish word related to water. * As an Irish surname, from Ó Bearáin (literally “descendant of Bearán”), see Barnes, Barron.

barrio

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish barrio ("district, quarter"), tracing further back to an Arabic word meaning "outskirts" or "wild."

Barris

Origin

Perhaps a variant of Barras.

barrister

Origin

Formed from bar (referring to the legal profession) plus the agent suffix -ster.

Barron

Origin

* As a Scottish surname, from Scots baron, sometimes found as McBarron; see Baron. * As an Irish and Manx surname, from Ó Bearáin (literally “descendant of Bearán”), a personal name from bior (“spear”). See Barnes, Barrington. * As a Spanish surname, augmentative of Barro. * As a French and Spanish surname, variant of Baron.

barroom

Origin

Formed from bar plus room.