English
barrage
Barrage comes from French barrage ‘barrage, barrier’, from barrer ‘to bar, bar up’, and ultimately from barre.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbarre
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentbarrer‘to bar, bar up’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentbarrage‘barrage, barrier’
- Englishearliest quotation 2006same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbarre
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentbarrer‘to bar, bar up’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentbarrage‘barrage, barrier’
- Englishearliest quotation 2006same form
Earliest quotation: 2006, Edwin Black: “Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like…”
Linked words
through French barre
Today it means
noun An artificial obstruction, such as a dam, in a river designed to increase its depth or to divert its flow.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French barre / barrage