From Old French 'baril,' probably Celtic — the barrel was a Gaulish invention that gradually replaced the Roman amphora.
A cylindrical container with flat ends, made of wooden staves bound by metal hoops, used for storing liquids and other goods; also a unit of measure for oil and other commodities.
From Old French 'baril' (a barrel, cask), of uncertain ultimate origin. The most widely accepted hypothesis derives it from Vulgar Latin *barriculus, possibly from a Gaulish Celtic source related to *barra (bar, barrier). An alternative theory connects it to Late Latin 'barra' (bar, rod) via the wooden bars (staves) from which barrels are made. The word
The wooden barrel was invented by the Celts, not the Romans. When Julius Caesar encountered Gaulish barrels during his conquests, the Romans had been using amphorae (clay jars) for centuries. The barrel's superiority for transporting goods overland — it could be rolled — led to its gradual replacement of the amphora throughout the Roman Empire, one of the few cases where a conquered people's