barnn.
/bɑːn/, U.S. /bɑrn/ a. A covered building for the storage of grain; and, in wider usage, of hay, straw, flax, and other produce of the earth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn
barnc950
lathea1325
grangec1384
mowa1643
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xii. 24 Ðæm ne is hordern ne ber-ern.
c975 Rushw. G. Luke xii. 24 Bere-ern.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 24 Nabbað hig heddern ne bern.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10486 Sammnenn all þe clene corn. & don itt inn hiss berrne.
c1220 Bestiary 263 Old Eng. Misc. 9 Ne bit ȝe (= she) nowt de barlic beren abuten.
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 15 Thropes and bernes, shepnes and dayeries.
c1475 in Wright Voc. 274 Orium, beyrne.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxiv. 138 A grete baerne within the said forest.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xvv [Rye] mowen..taketh more rowme in the barne than shorne corne doth.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Sii Corne or grain..in ye riche mens barnes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 111 Barnes, and Garners, neuer empty. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 51 And bursts the crowded Barns, with more than promis'd Gains. View more context for this quotation
1820 W. Wordsworth River Duddon xiii One small hamlet.. Clustering with barn and byre, and spouting mill.
1872 H. I. Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lake Distr. 24 The [Grasmere] island has a clump of firs and a grey barn upon it.
b. Applied to: A barn-like building for worship.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > sanctuary or holy place > [noun]
holinessc897
houseeOE
halidomc1000
ZionOE
God's houseOE
wike-tuna1250
saintuairea1300
sanctuarya1340
holy1382
entry?c1400
the Holy (Saint) Sepulchre (occasionally the Sepulchre)c1400
high placea1425
place of worship?1459
synagogue1490
God-box?1548
shrinea1577
bethela1617
prayer house1657
barn1689
bidental1692
altar1772
praying housea1843
1689 M. Prior Epist. to F. Shephard in Poems Several Occasions (1905) 13 So at pure barn of Loud Non-con, Where with my grannam I have gone.
c. A stable or cattle-house. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal enclosure or house general > [noun] > animal house
houseOE
stablec1250
standing?1440
helm1501
barth1570
stablet1585
hive1653
barn1770
animal shelter1891
1770 J. R. Forster tr. P. Kalm Trav. N. Amer. I. 223 The barns had a peculiar kind of construction... In the middle was the threshing floor..on one side were stables for the horses, and on the other for the cows.
1828 A. Royall Black Bk. II. 71 Every farmer has his small wooden barn, under which name they include stables.
1901 M. D. Babcock Thoughts 17 Locking a barn seems no longer commonplace when the horse is stolen.
1904 N.Y. Evening Post 28 Jan. 1 Cattle were found frozen stiff in the barns by farmers this morning.
d. [Said to have originated in the phrase ‘as big as a barn’.] In nuclear physics, 10−24 square centimetres, a unit of area used in the measurement of the cross-section of a nucleus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > [noun] > apparent area of > unit measuring
barn1947
1947 R. D. Evans in C. Goodman Sci. & Engin. Nucl. Power i. 15 This area has been dubbed the ‘barn’, 1 barn = 10−24 cm2 /nucleus.
1947 C. Goodman in C. Goodman Sci. & Engin. Nucl. Power ix. 290 The nuclear cross section, ☌, in barns.
1950 S. Glasstone Sourcebk. Atomic Energy x. 264/2 A unit, called a barn, equal to 10−24 sq. cm. per nucleus, has been adopted. note. The term ‘barn’ was proposed in 1942 by the American physicists M. G. Holloway and C. P. Baker, as a result of a broadly humorous association of ideas. It served the purpose of a code word..and seemed appropriate because ‘a cross section of 10−24 sq. cm. for nuclear processes was really as big as a barn’.
1957 Sci. News 45 106 The cross sections of gadolinium, samarium, and europium are 30,000, 4,250, and 2,500 barns respectively.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
barn barley n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn > contents of barn > barley stored in barn
barn barley1880
1880 R. Jefferies Round about Great Estate 152 Barn barley..i.e. that which had been stored in a barn.
barn-builder n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > builders of other structures
barn-builder1604
redeemera1610
Babel builder1610
vaulter1648
superstructor1669
pontifex1686
bridge-builder1752
bridger1958
1604 G. Babington Comf. Notes: Exod. i. (Exod.) x. 150 That rich Barne-builder in the Gospell.
barn form n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [adjective] > like a barn
barn-like1662
barn form1847
1847 J. Yeowell Chron. Anc. Brit. Church xii. 129 Very old Welsh Churches are of the barn form.
barn-loft n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn > parts of
mowstead1531
barn door?1544
driveway1834
barn-loft1837
barn chamber1838
picking-hole1847
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iv. v. 263 In cellars, barn-lofts, in Caves.
barn-sweepings n.
ΚΠ
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes ii. 99 Chaff, chopped straw, barn-sweepings.
C2.
barn-ball n. a children's game of the United States (see quot. 1879).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > children's ball games > [noun]
catchball1631
hop-ball1811
Anthony over1838
barn-ball1841
bull-pen1857
sevens1864
catch1887
pig in the middle1887
alairy1916
monkey in the middle1952
kingy1959
piggy in the middle1967
dandy shandy1978
1841 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 25 May 2/2 Who has not played ‘barn ball’ in his boyhood?
1879 B. F. Taylor Summer-savory 122 The writer knew a boy..who never got farther than ‘barn-ball’, which means throwing a ball at the gable and catching it when it returns.
1901 W. Churchill Crisis ix. 196 A tall man in his shirt sleeves was playing barn-ball with some boys.
barn-boss n. U.S. a horse-keeper.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [noun] > keeper or manager
horse-keeperc1440
horse marshal1508
horse-master?1523
jockey1640
guarda-caballo1808
pony-man1851
pony boy1858
horseman1882
tackman1885
barn-boss1902
1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail xxix. 201 So Shearer had picked out a barn-boss of his own.
barn-burner n. nickname of the radical section of the Democratic party in U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [noun] > Democratic Party > member or adherent of > of branch of
loco-foco1835
loco1838
O.K.1840
hard1843
softshell1845
barn-burner1848
hardshell1852
soft1853
softshell1853
Bourbon1859
short-hairs1867
New Dem1962
Blue Dog1995
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms Barnburners,..the opposite school [of Democrats] was termed Barnburners, in allusion to the story of an old Dutchman who relieved himself of rats by burning his barns which they infested,—just like exterminating all Banks and Corporations to root out the abuses connected therewith.
barn-cellar n. a room under a barn, generally used as a cow-house.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [noun] > housing or sheltering of cattle > cattle house
byrea800
shipponc900
neat-house1440
oxhousea1475
fee-house1483
cow-house1530
neatery1647
cow-stable1648
mistal1673
hemel1717
bull-house1808
barn-cellar1842
tie-up1851
cow-shippon1859
bullock-shed1865
cow-shed1886
1842 T. Parker in J. Weiss Life & Corr. T. Parker (1863) I. 184 A bull..tied up in the corner of the barn-cellar.
barn chamber n. U.S. a loft above a barn.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn > parts of
mowstead1531
barn door?1544
driveway1834
barn-loft1837
barn chamber1838
picking-hole1847
1838 H. Colman 1st Rep. Agric. Mass. (Mass. Agric. Surv.) 16 The best method of curing it [sc. herds grass]..is to..tie it in bundles; and set it upright in a barn chamber.
barn-floor n. the floor of a barn, hence what is there stored.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn > contents of barn
barn-floor1611
barnfula1620
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Kings vi. 27 Whence shall I helpe thee? out of the barne floore ? View more context for this quotation
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies vii. 272 Her decks were swept as clean as a barn floor.
barnful n. as much as a barn will contain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn > contents of barn
barn-floor1611
barnfula1620
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. viii. §4. 278 Not by the bushell..but by the whole Barnefull.
barn-gallon n. a measure containing two imperial gallons, used in the milk-trade.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > [noun] > liquid measure of capacity > specific units of liquid measure > gallon > two gallons
peck1805
barn-gallon1858
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products 27/2 Barn-gallon, a double gallon of milk.
1865 W. White Eastern Eng. II. xv. 217 The gallon being a ‘barn-gallon’ of seventeen pints.
barn-like adj. like, or like that of, a barn.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [adjective] > like a barn
barn-like1662
barn form1847
1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 36 Those Barn-like Roofs of many Noble Persons Palaces.
1835 W. Beckford Recoll. Monasteries Alcobaça & Batalha 174 The barn-like saloon on their ground-floor.
barn-lot n. U.S. a piece of ground for or about a barn (see lot n. 10).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn > barnyard
barnyard1354
barn-lot1724
1724 in H. H. Metcalf & O. G. Hammond Probate Rec. New Hampsh. (1914) II. 250 I give to my Daughters..the other half part of my afores[aid] barn Lott in Salsbury.
1932 W. Faulkner Light in August i. 12 When the wagon passes the house, and goes on toward the barnlot, his wife is watching it from the front door.
barnman n. (also barnsman) a labourer in a barn, a thresher.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing > thresher
thresher1221
thrasher1364
tasker14..
flail-swinger?1518
berrier1573
lotman1762
barnmana1805
a1805 A. Carlyle Autobiogr. (1860) i. 25 I took him for a grieve or barnman.
1861 S. Smiles Lives Engineers II. 112 A sufficient number of barnsmen for thrashing straw.
barn owl n. a British bird of prey ( Strix flammea), also called White, Church, and Screech Owl.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Strigiformes or owl > [noun] > family Tytonidae > tyto alba (barn owl)
shritch?a1500
scritch owl1510
shritch-owl1538
strich1552
screech owl1567
shriek-owl1567
madge?1576
lich-owl1585
lich-fowl1611
jill-hooter1668
white owl1672
barn owl1674
church owl1678
aluco1753
padge1848
cherubim1864
squinch-owl1880
monkey-facec1940
1674 J. Ray Catal. Eng. Birds 83 The common Barn-owl or White Owl, Aluco minor.
1845 C. Darwin Jrnl. (ed. 2) xvii. 378 The short-eared and white barn-owls of Europe.
barn-raising n. U.S. ‘the erection of the frame of a barn with the help of neighbours; a social gathering on this occasion’ ( D.A.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > [noun] > gatherings for specific activity
apple paring1656
house raising1704
quilting1768
bee1769
sing-song1769
reading party1781
rocking1786
cotton-picking1795
rolling1819
picking bee1828
candy pulling1834
candy pull1845
taffy-join1854
barn-raising1856
taffy pulling1863
coffee shop1880
log-rolling1883
taffy pull1883
petting party1920
play date1975
1856 T. D. Price MS. Diary 28 Apr. (D.A.) Went to D. D. Keller's barn raising.
1952 Economist 9 Aug. 340/1 The old custom of ‘barn-raising’, at which neighbours and friends volunteered their services, is coming back into fashion [in the U.S.A.].
barn-shovel n. one used for corn.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > corn shovel
scuttle1366
barn-shovel1446
1446 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 95 Whetridell..hopper, barnshoile.
barnstormer n. (a) applied depreciatively to a strolling player; whence barn-storming; (b) U.S. Aeronautics (see quot. barn n. and barnstorm v. 2c).
Π
1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 3 Barn stormers, theatrical performers who travel the country and act in barns, selecting short and frantic pieces to suit the rustic taste.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 June 5/1 If this be barn-storming, Betterton and Garrick were barn-stormers.
1928 Daily Mail 7 May 6/4 Barnstormers, itinerant flyers, appearing at fairs and race tracks, like Lindbergh in his earlier years.
1930 Punch 19 Mar. 330/1 Those barn-stormers who tore the play's passions and the spectators' heart-strings to shreds.
barn-swallow n. the common house-swallow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Hirundinidae > genus Hirundo > hirundo rustica (swallow)
swallowa700
Prognea1425
house swallow1572
hirondelle?1590
chimney-swallow1775
barn-swallow1851
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. ii. v. 282 Less skill or symmetry than..the common barn-swallow displays in the construction of its nest.
barnward adv. towards the barn.
ΚΠ
1884 Roe in Harper's Mag. July 247/2 The horses' heads were turned barnward.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† barnv.
Obsolete.
To house or store in a barn; to garner. Often figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [verb (transitive)] > gather into barn or granary
garner1474
barn1594
imbarn1610
granell1621
henta1641
granary1862
silage1885
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. G1v And vselesse barnes the haruest of his wits. View more context for this quotation
1647 T. Fuller Good Thoughts in Worse Times ii. xviii. 93 Whose censures often barne up the chaffe, and burne up the graine.
1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi iii. iii. iii. 192/1 To plant and dress, and barn, and beat their Corn.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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