English word origin

Etymology of barr

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

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To make the sound of an elephant.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionbarrirfr
Derivation mentionbarrirefro
Derivation mentionbarrusla

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "barrir",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to trumpet; to make the sound of an elephant"
      },
      "expansion": "French barrir (“to trumpet; to make the sound of an elephant”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "barrire"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French barrire"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "barriō"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin barriō"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "barrus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "elephant"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin barrus (“elephant”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "barrir",
      "barrir#French"
    ],
    [
      "barrire",
      "barrire#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "barriō",
      "barrio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "barrus",
      "barrus#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make the sound of an elephant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

Obsolete spelling of bar.

noun

Obsolete spelling of bar.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

See bar.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "links": [
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      "bar#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete spelling of bar."
      ],
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete spelling of bar."
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for barr →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-YmFycg