Bar"rel (băr"r&ebreve;l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Barreled (-r&ebreve;ld), or Barrelled;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Barreling, or Barrelling.]
To put or to pack in a barrel or
barrels.
Bar"rel (băr"r&ebreve;l), n. [OE. barel, F.
baril, prob. fr. barre bar. Cf. Barricade.]
1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads.
2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or
by law. A barrel of wine is 31½ gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds.
3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the
barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is
coiled.
4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is
discharged. Knight.
5. A jar. [Obs.] 1 Kings xvii. 12.
6. (Zoöl.) The hollow basal part of
a feather.
Barrel bulk (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic
feet, used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight. - - Barrel drain (Arch.), a drain in the
form of a
cylindrical tube. -- Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical
part of a boiler, containing the
flues. -- Barrel of the ear (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic cavity. -- Barrel organ, an instrument for producing music by the
action of a
revolving cylinder. -- Barrel
vault. See under Vault.
Hear it pronounced