barrack

Definition

A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.

Etymology

Borrowed from French baraque, from Spanish barraca or Catalan barraca, which is of uncertain origin. It is probably either a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barra (“bar”), of unclear origin, or a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *barrum (“clay, mud”) from Celtiberian or Paleo-Hispanic.

Example Sentences

• "Before the gates of Bari, he lodged in a miserable hut or barrack, composed of dry branches, and thatched with straw; a perilous station, on all sides open to the inclemency of the winter and the spears of the enemy."
• "1919, House Committee on Military Affairs, Army Reorganization: Hearings Before the Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives, 66th Congress, 1st Session, on H.R. 8287, H.R. 8068, H.R. 7925, H.R. 8870, Sept. 3, 1919-Nov. 12, 1919, Parts 23-43, page 1956, How do you distinguish between the disciplinary barracks and the penitentiary? Where are the disciplinary barracks ?"
• "I know the barracks at the training camp out on the moors."