An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

General: Anything that prevents passage or blocks.
Physics: 1) A region where the potential energy is greater than the total energy of a particle, whereby the particle cannot go through.
2) The depletion layer of a P-N junction in a diode.

Etymology (EN): O.F. barrière “obstacle,” from V.L. *barraria, from *barra “bar, barrier.”

Etymology (PE): Varqé, from varq “a mound, a dam” + -é nuance suffix. Varq is
probably related to Av. vâra- “barrage,” vara- “enclosure,” var- “castle,” Mid.Pers. var “enclosure,” from Av. root var- “to cover, to conceal;” variants: barq (Torbat Heydariyei), valgâ (štiyâni), var (Qomi); cf. Skt. vatra- “a dike, a dam,"varana- “rampart, wall,” from vr- “to obstruct, close, cover, hide; to choose.”