Barr-
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Barr- is a pre-Indo-European linguistic root meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier'^[1][2].

In addition to the common noun bar, it explains many place names as:

• Barr, commune of Alsace, France.
• Bar, commune of Corrèze, Limousin, France,
• Bar-sur-Aube and Bar-sur-Seine, communes of Aube, Champagne, France,
• Bar-le-Duc, commune of Lorraine, France, etc.

but not Le Bar-sur-Loup, a former Albarn > Aubarn.

In Alps, the word applies to rocky escarpments:

• la Barre des Écrins is a mountain in French Alps.

This root should not be mistaken for the Basque root Bar- / ibar 'valley'.

Notes and references

1. ^ Michel Morvan, La racine toponymique pré-celtique *Bar, Lapurdum I 1996, ERS 142 du CNRS, ISBN 2-84127-106-4.
2. ^ Éric Vial, Les noms de villes et de village, Belin, 1983, ISBN 2-70110-476-9