barge

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A large, flat-bottomed boat used to carry goods on rivers and canals.

   The barge carried building materials along the canal.

2. 2
   verb

   To move or push in a rough, forceful, or unwelcome way, often past other people.

   Please do not barge into the line ahead of people who have been waiting.

Simplified etymology

Barge entered English from French in the Middle Ages and probably derives ultimately from Greek baris, the name of an Egyptian boat used on the Nile. It originally meant a small seagoing vessel; the familiar flat-bottomed freight-boat sense dates from the early 16th century. The later verb meaning “move forcefully or roughly” evokes the collisions of a heavy, unwieldy barge.

From Old French barge, from Vulgar Latin barica, from Late Latin barca ('small boat'), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian via Greek baris ('boat').

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary