Barring

Part of speech: preposition, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈbɑːɹɪŋ(ɡ)/

Definitions

1. Excluding particular factors or individuals from consideration
2. Used to indicate the exclusion of certain conditions or events from a situation
3. Serving to prevent or keep something from happening by leaving it out

Etymology: "Barring" is the present participle of the verb "bar," which in Middle English meant to fasten a door or gate with a wooden beam set across it. From that physical act came the sense of blocking a way and then of excluding someone or something. By the 1300s, "bar" had also taken on the sense of making an exception or objection, and the prepositional use of "barring" (as in "barring accidents") grew out of the idea of shutting something out of consideration. The verb itself comes from Old French "barrer," meaning to bar or bolt, which was derived from "barre," a bar or barrier. That Old French noun is traced to a Vulgar Latin "barra," probably of Celtic or pre-Latin origin, and the same root gives English the word "barrier." So a "barring" clause, in the sense of "barring rain," is essentially a clause that bolts a possibility shut.

Synonyms: excluding, prohibiting

Antonyms: allowing, permitting