barreled

Barreled is an English adjective and past participle derived from barrel. It is used to describe objects that have a barrel or are related to a barrel in construction or use. In American English the spelling is barreled, while in British and other Commonwealth varieties the spelling barrelled is preferred. The term frequently appears in compound forms, such as double-barreled or two-barreled, to indicate two barrels.

In firearms and weapon terminology, barreled appears most often. It can describe the barrel itself or a firearm’s overall construction, as in barreled action, barreled rifle, or a double-barreled shotgun. When referring to the number of barrels, terms like single-barreled or double-barreled are common, and hyphenation follows standard rules for compound modifiers.

In other contexts the sense of barreled can indicate something that has been placed into or aged in barrels. Although the more common expression for alcoholic beverages is barrel-aged, barreled can appear in older or less formal usage to mean treated or stored in barrels, for example barreled whiskey. In such uses, the emphasis is on the container or the effect of aging in a barrel rather than on the barrel itself.

Etymology traces barreled to barrel, with the -ed suffix forming the past participle and adjective. Spelling and hyphenation conventions vary by dialect and by whether the term is used attributively in compound adjectives.