Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BARGE, n. [barj; D. bargie; It. and Sp. barca; Ir. barc. Barge, and bark or barque, a ship, are radically one word.]

1. A pleasure-boat; a vessel or boat of state, furnished with elegant apartments, canopies and cushions, equipped with a band of rowers, and decorated with flags and streamers, used by officers and magistrates. – Encyc.
2. A flat-bottomed vessel of burden, for loading and unloading ships. – Mar. Dict.