Barrowfuls

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large quantity or amount that can be carried in a wheelbarrow
2. The volume or load that fills a wheelbarrow to its capacity
3. Referring to multiple instances of a wheelbarrow filled with items or material

Etymology: "Barrowfuls" is the plural of "barrowful," which is simply "barrow" with the suffix "-ful" attached. The "-ful" ending means "as much as will fill" or "the amount contained in," so a barrowful is as much as a barrow can hold. The plural adds "-s" to the end, giving the sense of several such loads. The base word "barrow" is the older and more interesting part of the story. It comes from Old English "bearwe," a relative of "bear" (to carry), so a barrow is literally a carrying device. That same root gave a barrow its older sense of a simple hand-carried frame or stretcher, long before it came to mean the wheeled version.