Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BAR'RI-ER, n. [Fr. barriere; It. barriera; Sp. barrera; a barrier; Sp. barrear, to bar or barricade. See Bar.]

1. In fortification, a kind of fence made in a passage or retrenchment, composed of great stakes, with transoms or overthwart rafters, to stop an enemy. – Encyc.
2. A wall for defense.
3. A fortress or fortified town on the frontier of a country. – Swift.
4. Any obstruction; any thing which confines, or which hinders approach, or attack; as, constitutional barriers. – Hopkinson.
5. A bar to mark the limits of a place; any limit, or boundary; a line of separation. – Pope.