barrier English · revision 7260

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1325|origins=fro barre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbæɹi.ə/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English barere, barrer, [[bor|xno|barrere]], Old French [[m|fro|barriere|t=obstacle, gatekeeper]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|fro|barre|t=bar]] (see [[bar]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) NODE calls the French word of unknown origin.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A palisade or stockade barring the way of an enemy: about 1325 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline, about 1380 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The spelling with -i-, from French, was introduced in the 15th and 16th centuries.^(Barnhart 1988) A fence or railing preventing access is from 1570,^(OED 1989) and a fortress commanding the entrance to a country from 1600.^(OED 1989) A frontier generally is from 1709,^(OED 1989) and the toll gate of a continental town from 1825.^(OED 1989) Anything that prevents progress, a figurative obstacle, follows.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Barrier reef'' is first known from 1805.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – a palisade.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1570 – a railing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1709 – a frontier.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1805 – barrier reef.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fence or other obstacle that prevents movement or access.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A circumstance or obstacle that keeps people or things apart or prevents progress: ''a language barrier''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A limit or boundary: ''the sound barrier''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[heat barrier]]

+ * [[barrier reef]]

+ * [[trade barrier]]

+ * [[Great Barrier Reef]]

+ * [[ice barrier]]

+ * [[sound barrier]]

+ * [[Jersey barrier]]

+ * [[barrier island]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bar]]

+ * [[barricade]]

+ * [[barrister]]

+ * [[embargo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}