Etymology

barcarole

bar·ca·role
B3A1R1C3A1R1O1L1E1

Today it means: A Venetian folk song traditionally sung by gondoliers, often in ⁶⁄₈ or ¹²⁄₈ time with alternating strong and weak beats imitating a rowing motion. Full definition →

First used late 18th c.French barcarolle ← Venetan barcaroƚa ← Egyptian bꜣjr
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The story

  1. Egyptian · derived frombꜣjr“transport ship; type of fish”
  2. Venetan · derived frombarcaroƚa“song sung by a boatman”
  3. French · borrowed frombarcarolle
  4. English todaybarcarole

Borrowed from French barcarolle, from Venetan barcaroƚa (“song sung by a boatman”), from barca (“bark, barge, boat”), ultimately from Egyptian bꜣjr (“transport ship; type of fish”).

Words from the same roots

Egyptianbꜣjr all →

barque

First known use, by meaning

  • from late 18th c. A Venetian folk song traditionally sung by gondoliers, often in ⁶⁄₈ or ¹²⁄₈ time with alternating strong and weak beats imitating a rowing motion.
  • from late 18th c. A piece of music composed in imitation of such a song.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.