Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

   4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is
      discharged. --Knight.

   5. A jar. [Obs.] --1 Kings xvii. 12.

   6. (Zo["o]l.) The hollow basal part of a feather.

   {Barrel bulk} (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic feet,
      used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight.
      

   {Barrel drain} (Arch.), a drain in the form of a cylindrical
      tube.

   {Barrel of a boiler}, the cylindrical part of a boiler,
      containing the flues.

   {Barrel of the ear} (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic
      cavity.

   {Barrel organ}, an instrument for producing music by the
      action of a revolving cylinder.

   {Barrel vault}. See under {Vault}.

Bulk \Bulk\ (b[u^]lk), n. [OE. bulke, bolke, heap; cf. Dan. bulk
   lump, clod, OSw. bolk crowd, mass, Icel. b?lkast to be bulky.
   Cf. {Boll}, n., {Bile} a boil, {Bulge}, n.]
   1. Magnitude of material substance; dimensions; mass; size;
      as, an ox or ship of great bulk.

            Against these forces there were prepared near one
            hundred ships; not so great of bulk indeed, but of a
            more nimble motion, and more serviceable. --Bacon.

   2. The main mass or body; the largest or principal portion;
      the majority; as, the bulk of a debt.

            The bulk of the people must labor, Burke told them,
            ``to obtain what by labor can be obtained.'' --J.
                                                  Morley.

   3. (Naut.) The cargo of a vessel when stowed.

   4. The body. [Obs.] --Shak.

            My liver leaped within my bulk.       --Turbervile.

   {Barrel bulk}. See under {Barrel}.

   {To break bulk} (Naut.), to begin to unload or more the
      cargo.

   {In bulk}, in a mass; loose; not inclosed in separate
      packages or divided into separate parts; in such shape
      that any desired quantity may be taken or sold.

   {Laden in bulk}, {Stowed in bulk}, having the cargo loose in
      the hold or not inclosed in boxes, bales, or casks.

   {Sale by bulk}, a sale of goods as they are, without weight
      or measure.

   Syn: Size; magnitude; dimension; volume; bigness; largeness;
        massiveness.