A.Word.A.Day --barrack

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Oct 24, 2008

This week's theme
Words that appear to have been coined after the 2008 US presidential candidates

This week's words
obambulate
bidentate
palinode
meeken
barrack

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Contranyms, or words with an opposite set of meanings

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

barrack

PRONUNCIATION:

(BAR-uhk, the first syllable is the same as in barrel)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.: 1. To shout in support: to cheer. 2. To shout against: to jeer.
noun: A building used to house soldiers.

ETYMOLOGY:

The verb sense of the word is perhaps from Northern Ireland dialectal barrack (to brag).
The noun sense is from French baraque, from Italian baracca or Spanish barraca (hut, tent).

USAGE:

"Raphael Clarke said: Every kid wants to play for the team they barrack for."
Lyall Johnson; Clarkes Praise the Saints; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Nov 23, 2003.

"During the debate, then Socred leader Rita Johnston and NDP leader Mike Harcourt were barracking away at each other about corruption."
Ross Howard; TV Debate; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); May 16, 1996.

See more usage examples of barrack in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

A man can't ride on your back unless it's bent. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)

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