Barriered

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Taking on the form of a structure that prevents passage or obstructs movement in various contexts
2. Referring to something that includes a protective or isolating fence or hindrance that restricts interaction
3. Describing an entity that has been enclosed or secured by a physical or metaphorical obstruction

Etymology: "Barriered" is simply the past tense and past participle of "barrier", so its story is really the story of the verb "barrier" with an ordinary ending added. That root arrived in English from Anglo-Norman "barrere", a form closely related to the French "barrière", and it goes back to "barre", meaning "bar". A barrier, in other words, began as a physical bar: a rail or beam set across a path to stop passage. The English noun took the form "barrer" or "barrere" in Middle English, and the word stayed close to that picture of a physical obstruction for centuries. The adjective and verb senses in use today grew naturally from the noun, so "barriered" describes something that has had a bar, or a series of bars, placed across its path.

Synonyms: blocked, obstructed, fenced, closed off

Antonyms: open, clear, unblocked