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barn

UK/ˈbaɹn/ US/ˈbɑɹn/ common informal slang

noun

1.

an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals

2.

(physics) a unit of nuclear cross section; the effective circular area that one particle presents to another as a target for an encounter

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English barn, bern, bærn, from Old English bearn, bern, contracted forms of Old English berern, bereærn (“barn, granary”), compound of bere (“barley”) and ærn, ræn (“dwelling, barn”), from Proto-West Germanic *raʀn, from Proto-Germanic *razną (compare Old Norse rann), from pre-Germanic *h₁rh̥₁-s-nó-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁erh₁- (“to rest”). More at rest and barley. For the use as a unit of surface area, see w:Barn (unit) § Etymology.

Phrases

  • around Robin Hood's barn
  • barn burner
  • barn cat
  • barn coat
  • barn dance
  • barn dancing
  • barn door
  • barn doors
  • Barns Green

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.