Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

barré

[bah-rey]
noun
  1. Textiles. a pattern of stripes or bands of color extending across the warp in woven and knitted fabrics.
  2. Textiles. a streak in the filling direction when one or more picks are of a color different from that of adjacent picks.
  3. Music. a technique of playing a chord on a stringed instrument by laying a finger across the strings at a particular fret, raising their pitch.
Show More

Origin of barré

< French: literally, barred, past participle of barrer, derivative of barre bar1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for barré

barré

noun
  1. the act of laying the index finger over some or all of the strings of a guitar, lute, or similar instrument, so that the pitch of each stopped string is simultaneously raisedCompare capo 1
  2. the playing of chords in this manner
Show More
verb
  1. to execute (chords) in this manner
Show More
adverb
  1. by using the barré
Show More

Word Origin for barré

C19: from French, from barrer bar 1

barre

noun
  1. a rail at hip height used for ballet practice and leg exercises
Show More

Word Origin for barre

literally: bar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for barré

barre

1876, in reference to chords played on a guitar, etc., from French, literally "bar" (see bar (n.1)).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper