in a general sense, denotes a slender piece of wood, or iron, for keeping things close together.

in courts of justice, an inclosure made with a strong partition of timber, where the council are placed to plead causes. It is also applied to the benches where the lawyers or advocates are seated, because anciently there was a bar to separate the pleaders from the attorneys and others. Hence our lawyers, who are called to the bar, or licensed to plead, are termed barristers, an appellation equivalent to licentiate in other countries.

in law, a plea of a defendant, which is said to be sufficient to destroy the plaintiff's action.

in heraldry, an ordinary in form of the fess, but much less.

It differs from the fess only in its narrowness; and in this, that the bar may be placed in any part of the field, whereas the fess is confined to a single place. See Plate LI. fig. 4.

Bar-gemel, that is a double bar, called by the French jumelles, and by the Latin writers jugaria fascia, and jugititia bijuges, is a diminutive of the fess. See Plate LI. fig. 5.

in the menage, the highest part of that place of a horse's mouth, situated between the grinders and tusks; so that the part of the mouth which lies under and at the side of the bars, retains the name of the gum. A horse with sensible bars has a fine light mouth, with an even and firm appui. See Appui.

To BAR a vein, in farriery, is an operation performed upon the veins of the legs of a horse and other parts, with intent to stop the malignant humours. It is done by opening the skin above it, disengaging it, and tying it both above and below, and striking between the two ligatures.

in music, a stroke drawn perpendicularly across the lines of a piece of music, including between each two a certain quantity or measure of time, which is various as the time of the music is either triple or common. In common time, between each two bars is included the measure of four crotchets; in triple, three. The principal use of bars is to regulate the beating of time, in a concert. See Time and Measure.

in hydrography, denotes a bank of sand, or other matter, whereby the mouth of a river is in a manner choked up.

The term bar is also used for the strong beam wherewith the entrance of an harbour is secured: This is more commonly called boom.

BARRA, in commerce. See Barra.

or Bar-le-duc, in geography, a duchy belonging to France, lying north-west of Lorraine, on both sides the river Maas, whereof Bar-le-duc is the principal town; in 5° 15' E. long. and 48° 40' N. lat.

BAR is also a town of Podolia, in Poland; situated in 28° E. long. and 48° 20' N. lat.

BAR is also the name of two towns in France; the one in Champagne, upon the Aube; and the other in Burgundy, upon the Seine.