Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BAR'I-TONE, n.

See BARYTONE.

BA'RI-UM, n.

The metallic basis of baryta, which is an oxyd of barium. – Davy. Barium is susceptible of two degrees of oxygenation, the first is called protoxyd of baryta; carbonated, it is barolite. [Barytum is the legitimate word.]

BARK, n. [Dan. bark; Sw. barck; G. borke; probably from stripping, separating.]

1. The exterior covering of a tree, corresponding to the skin of an animal. This is composed of the cuticle or epidermis, the outer bark, or cortex, and the inner bark, or liber. The rough broken matter on bark is, by the common people of New England, called ross.
2. By way of distinction, Peruvian Bark.

BARK, or BARQUE, n. [Ir. barc; Fr. barque; Russ. barka; It. and Sp. barca.]

A small ship; but appropriately, a ship which carries three masts without a mizzen top-sail. The English mariners in the coal trade, apply this name to a broad-sterned ship without a figure-head. – Encyc. Mar. Dict. Water-barks, in Holland, are small vessels for conveying fresh water from place to place, the hold of which is filled with water. – Encyc.

BARK, v.i. [Sax. beorcan, byrcan, to bark.]

1. To make the noise of dogs when they threaten or pursue.
2. To clamor at; to pursue with unreasonable clamor or reproach. It is followed by at. To bark at sleeping fame. – Spenser.

BARK, v.t.

To peel; to strip off bark. Also to cover or inclose with bark.

BARK'-BAR-ED, a.

Stripped of the bark. – Mortimer.

BARK'-BOUND, a.

Having the bark too firm or close, as with trees. This disease is cured by slitting the bark. – Encyc.

BARK'ED, pp.

Stripped of the bark; peeled; also covered with bark.

BARK'ER, n.

One who barks or clamors unreasonably; one who strips trees of their bark.

BARK'GALL-ED, a.

Having the bark galled, as with thorns. This defect is cured by binding on clay. – Encyc.

BARK'ING, ppr.

Stripping off bark; making the noise of dogs; clamoring; covering with bark.

BARK'Y, a.

Consisting of bark; containing bark. – Shak.

BAR'LEY, n. [W. barlys; Sax. bere. Qu. L. far, Gr. πυρος, Heb. בר, bar, corn. In the Saxon Chronicle, An. 1124, it is written bærlie. Owen renders it bread-corn, from bara, bread.]

A species of valuable grain, used especially for making malt, from which are distilled liquors of extensive use, as beer, ale, and porter. It is of the genus Hordeum, consisting of several species. Those principally cultivated in England, are the common spring barley, the long eared barley, the winter or square barley, by some called big, and the sprat or battledore barley. This grain is used in medicine, as possessing emollient, diluent, and expectorant qualities. – Encyc. Miller. Arbuthnot.

BAR'LEY-BRAKE, n.

A rural play; a trial of swiftness. – Sidney.

BAR'LEY-BROTH, n.

A low word for strong beer. – Shak.

BAR'LEY-CORN, n. [See Corn.]

A grain of barley; the third part of an inch in length; hence originated our measures of length. – Johnson.

BAR'LEY-MOW, n.

A mow of barley, or the place where barley is deposited. – Gay.

BAR'LEY-SU-GAR, n.

Sugar boiled till it is brittle, formerly with a decoction of barley.

BAR'LEY-WA-TER, n.

A decoction of barley, which is reputed soft and lubricating, and much used in medicine. French barley, and pearl barley, are used for making decoctions. These are made by separating the grain from its coat. The pearl barley is reduced to the size of a small shot.

BARM, n. [Sax. beorm. Qu. L. fermentum, from ferveo; or beer-rahm, beer cream; or W. berwi, to boil.]

Yeast; the scum rising upon beer, or other malt liquors, when fermenting, and used as leaven in bread to make it swell, causing it to be softer, lighter, and more delicate. It may be used in liquors to make them ferment or work. – Johnson. Encyc.

BARM'Y, a.

Containing barm, or yeast. – Bacon. Shak.

BARN, n. [Sax. berern, from bere, barley, and ærn, or ern, a close place, or repository.]

A covered building for securing grain, hay, flax, and other productions of the earth. In the northern states of America, the farmers generally use barns for stabling their horses and cattle; so that among them, a barn is both a corn-house, or grange, and a stable.

BAR'NA-CLE, n. [Port. bernaca, the Solan goose; Fr. barnacle, or barnaque; L. perna, a shell-fish.]

1. A shell which is often found on the bottoms of ships, rocks, and timber, below the surface of the sea.
2. A species of goose, found in the northern seas, but visiting more southern climates in winter. The forehead and cheeks are white, but the upper part of the body and neck is black. Formerly, a strange notion prevailed, that these birds grew out of wood, or rather out of the barnacles attached to wood in the sea. Hence the name. It is written also Bernacle. – Pennant.
3. In the plural, an instrument consisting of two branches joined at one end with a hinge, to put upon a horse's nose, to confine him, for shoeing, bleeding, or dressing. – Encyc.

BAR'O-LITE, n. [Gr. βαρος, weight, and λιθος, a stone.]

Carbonate of baryta. Its color is usually a light yellowish gray; sometimes whitish, or with a tinge of green. It is strongly translucent. It usually occurs in small masses, which have a fibrous structure; sometimes in distinct crystals. This mineral is called also Witherite, from Dr. Withering, the discoverer. – Cleaveland. Kirwan. Ure.