barra

Forms

barra f (plural barras)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *barra (“crossbar, bar for closing a door”).^[2][3][1] Houaiss gives the Latin word a pre-Roman base from Gaulish *barro (“end, extremity”), and Aurélio and Michaelis call the word pre-Roman.^[2][4][5] The DLP is more cautious: “perhaps” from the Vulgar Latin word.^[6]

The same word is Galician barra, Spanish barra, Catalan barra, Occitan barra, French barre and Italian barra.^[7][1] Corominas calls it a pre-Roman word common to all the Romance languages except Romanian.^[8]

Its source is unclear.^[9][3] Machado, following an earlier study of his own, sees a possible Hispanic, perhaps Celtic, element in the ⟨rr⟩, and compares the Gaulish word, known only in names, with Irish barr and Welsh barr (“top, branch”).^[3] The DHLF reports the same comparison but finds the sense remote, and mentions Guiraud's idea of a doublet of Latin vāra (“forked stick”).^[10] Wiktionary calls the Gaulish source largely discredited and gives as an alternative Proto-Germanic *barō (“bar, barrier”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Latin charter of 1175 already has the word, as a place name: per uetus carril de cima de barra “by the old cart track above Barra”.^[3][2] Houaiss dates three senses to the 13th century: the bank of sand at a river mouth, the river mouth itself, and a strip of cloth that trims a garment.^[2] A Latin testament of 1256 has the participle barrado “striped”, of a head-dress trimmed with gold.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Machado starts from the sense “crossbar, divider” and derives the rest from the shape of a long, narrow piece: the trimming of a skirt, the stake that holds up a topmast, the tiller, the levers of a capstan and the narrow entrance of a harbour.^[3] Houaiss dates the ingot of metal to 1318 and the general sense “long rigid piece” to the 16th century.^[2]

Bluteau (1712) defines the word first as the entrance of a harbour, with the bar of Goa as an example, and also as a term of heraldry.^[11] Morais (1789) adds the capstan lever, the support of the topmast and bars of gold and silver.^[12] Vieira (1871) records a homely sense, a rough bed of two benches and planks, and Figueiredo (1899) a game in which the player who throws an iron bar furthest wins.^[13][14] Houaiss dates the painted strip at the foot of a wall to 1881 and the strip of tiles to 1896; later senses include the oblique stroke of writing and the bar of a computer screen.^[2]

In Brazil the plural barras do dia is the first light of dawn, and in the north-east barra is a rain cloud on the horizon.^[15][16] A masculine use, “strong man; capable person”, Machado explains from the upright bar.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1175 – a Latin charter has barra as a place name.^[3]
• 1200s – the senses “sand bar at a river mouth”, “river mouth” and “strip of trimming”.^[2]
• 1256 – barrado “striped” in a Latin testament.^[3]
• 1318 – the sense “ingot”.^[2]
• 1496 – barra in the História de mui nobre Vespasiano.^[17]
• 1500s – the sense “long rigid piece”.^[2]
• 1712 – Bluteau gives the harbour entrance and the heraldic sense.^[11]
• 1881 – the painted strip at the foot of a wall.^[2]
• 1896 – the strip of tiles on a wall.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (nautical) The narrow entrance of a harbour or bay, between two points of land.^[2][18]
2. (geography) A bar of sand or mud at a river mouth;^[2][15][1] (Brazil) the mouth of a river.^[2][15][1]
3. A long, narrow, rigid piece of wood, metal or other material; a rod.^[2][19][1]
4. An ingot of cast metal: ouro em barra.^[2][18][1]
5. A bar of a product sold in that shape: uma barra de sabão.^[2][18]
6. A band of cloth that trims a garment; the hem or turned-up end of a skirt or trousers.^[2][4][1]
7. A strip of paint or tiles along the foot of a wall.^[2]
8. (sports) The crossbar of a goal; a gymnastics bar; the ballet barre.^[18][20][1]
9. (typography) The slash (/).^[2][1]
10. (heraldry) A bend sinister.^[11][1]
11. (law) The rail that separates the judges from the public in a court.^[20]
12. A game of throwing a short iron bar, won by the longest throw; the bar itself.^[14][6]
13. (usually plural) The first light of day, or the red of the sky at sunset.^[2][15]
14. (masculine and feminine, informal) A strong, sturdy person; a capable, resolute or very knowledgeable person.^[6][5]

Word family

• barrar
• barrado
• barreira

Related words

• bairro
• Spanish barra
• French barre

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. barra
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. barra
4. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. barra
5. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. barra
6. ^ a b c d Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. barra
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 963
8. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 516
9. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. barra
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. barre
11. ^ a b c Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. barra
12. ^ Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 169
13. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 1, 731
14. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 176
15. ^ a b c d Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. barra
16. ^ Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. barra
17. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. barra
18. ^ a b c d Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. barra
19. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. barra
20. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1281