Barney

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: barney

Translingual

[edit]

Proper noun

[edit]

Barney

  1. A botanical plant name author abbreviation for botanist E.E. Barney (fl. 1877-79).

Further reading

[edit]

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From either the Old English personal name Bera (genitive singular Beran) or from Old English beren (growing with barley) + īeġ (island).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Proper noun

[edit]

Barney (countable and uncountable, plural Barneys)

  1. A male given name
    1. A male given name transferred from the surname
    2. A diminutive of the male given names Barnabas, Barnaby, Bernard, or Barnett.
    3. A male given name from Old English
  2. A surname
    1. A surname transferred from the given name
    2. A surname from Old English
      1. A surname from Old English [in turn from placenames] from the place name Barney, Old English "barn/barley island".
      2. A surname from Old English [in turn transferred from the given name]
  3. A placename:
    1. A village in Fulmodeston parish, North Norfolk district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TF9932).
    2. A place in the United States:
      1. An unincorporated community in Faulkner County, Arkansas.
      2. An unincorporated community in Brooks County, Georgia.
      3. An unincorporated community in Madison County, Iowa.
      4. A minor city in Richland County, North Dakota.

Quotations

[edit]
  • 1977 February, Richard F.Snow, Barney Oldfield, American Heritage:
    "Who the hell do you think you are — Barney Oldfield?" That was the motorcycle cop’s standard question for fifty years, and even today you can hear it once in a while if you get caught speeding.
  • 1999, Ian Rankin, Dead Souls, →ISBN, page 27:
    "Barney Mee?" he said.
    More laughter on the line. "I never knew why everyone called me that."
    Rebus could have told him: after Barney Rubble in The Flintstones. He could have added: because you were a dense wee bastard.

Derived terms

[edit]

Anagrams

[edit]