Barr (placename element)

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Barr- is a pre-Indo-European linguistic root meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier'.[1]

In addition to the common noun bar, it explains many place names as:

* Barr, commune of Alsace, France [citation needed]
* Bar, commune of Corrèze, Limousin France [citation needed]
* Bar-sur-Aube and Bar-sur-Seine, communes of Aube, Champagne, France
* Bar-le-Duc, commune of Lorraine, France

but not Le Bar-sur-Loup, a former Albarn > Aubarn.[citation needed]

In Alps, the word applies to rocky escarpments:

* la Barre des Écrins is a mountain in French Alps.

This root should not be mistaken for the Basque root Bar- / ibar 'valley'.

## Notes and references

[edit]

1. ^ Éric Vial, Les noms de villes et de village, Belin, 1983, ISBN 2-7011-0476-9