barrell

B3A1R1R1E1L1L1

proper noun

A surname.

UncommonScrabble 9

Meanings

barrell1

nounbarrell (plural barrells)

plural barrells

  1. obsoleteObsolete form of barrel.

    And ſhe ſaid, As the Lord thy God liueth, I haue not a cake, but an handfull of meale in a barrell, and a little oyle in a cruſe: […]

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 17:12, column 2
    2 more examples

    [A] Lieutenant of a Troupe of compleat armed French Piſtoliers, is reputed better in degree then a Captaine of an hundred Foot, a Lieutenant of the late inuented Dragoones (being not aboue ſixteene inche Barrell, and full Muſquet bore) the Foot-Captaines equall, and the Lieutenant of a Troupe of Harquebuſsiers or Carbines his immediate younger brother.

    1622, Francis Markham, “Epist[le] 5. To the Right Honorable William Lord Peter of Writtle. The Argument. Of the Captaine of Horse.”, in Five Decades of Epistles of Warre, London: […] Augustine Matthewes, →OCLC, decad 4, pages 137–138

    Mercurye the nimble poſt of heaven, / Stood ſtill to ſee the quarrell; / Gorrel-bellyed Bacchus, gyant-like, / Beſtryd a ſtrong-beere barrell.

    1765, Thomas Percy, compiler, “Old Tom of Bedlam: Mad Song the First”, in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry: […], volume II, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC, book III, page 345, lines 37–40

Barrell2

proper nounBarrell (plural Barrells)

plural Barrells

Origin

  1. Old Englishbār“boar”
  2. Old Frenchbaril“barrel”
  3. EnglishBarrell

Various origins: * Metonymic occupational surname for a cooper or a nickname for an obese man or an immoderate drinker, from Old French baril (“barrel”). * Habitational surname from Barwell, in Leicestershire, from Old English bār (“boar”) + wielle (“well, spring”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

barrell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barrell

MLA

“barrell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barrell. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barrell,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barrell.

Source: barrell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.