Late 19th century; earliest use found in The Jewish Quarterly Review. From post-biblical Hebrew bāraiṯā and its etymon Aramaic barrāyĕṯā, lit. ‘external (material)’, short for maṯnīṯā barrāyĕṯā (emphatic form) external Mishnah from maṯnīṯā Mishnah + bāraiṯā external.