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Byre

Chris K

Banned
English / US
Is byre only appropriate for a barn that houses cattle, or could it also be applied to a building for sheep or horses?
It is specific to cattle, as stable is specific to horses and stye to pigs.
Difficult question to answer, since the word is dated or used only in descriptions of historical farm buildings. I have never heard anyone use it to describe an actual working barn. All dictionaries limit the word's meaning to "cowshed".
Difficult question to answer, since the word is dated or used only in descriptions of historical farm buildings. I have never heard anyone use it to describe an actual working barn. All dictionaries limit the word's meaning to "cowshed".

It's not uncommon in ballads, but of course many of them are quite old.
My late mother, who was from Ireland, used the word "byre" in ordinary speech, and it meant "cow shed".

Poking around on the Net, I found the word used in current legislation:
"byre" means any part of dairy premises used for the housing and milking of cows;
from The Milk and Dairies (Scotland) Regulations 1990
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