A Barrel of Oil Is 42 Gallons Because of Whiskey
A barrel is a curved wooden or metal container. The oil industry standard traces back to a barrel size borrowed from another trade.
A barrel is a cylindrical container with bulging sides. The oil barrel of 42 US gallons is a historical accident: early Pennsylvania producers shipped crude in used whiskey barrels of that size, and when the industry standardised in the 1870s it simply kept the number. No barrel is involved in oil trading today, only the unit.
- A curved container. *An oak barrel.*
- A unit of volume. *Barrels per day.*
- A gun's tube. *The rifle barrel.*
- Over a barrel — helpless. *They had him over a barrel.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | barrel | A wine barrel. |
| Plural | barrels | Stacked barrels. |
| Verb | barrel | Barrelling down the road. |
| Person | cooper | The village cooper. |
| Related | cask | An oak cask. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Production is measured in barrels per day.Oil industry.
- The wine ages in oak barrels.Winemaking.
- He came barrelling round the corner.Moving fast and uncontrollably.
Barrel facts
- 42 US gallons — the oil barrel, about 159 litres
- Cooper — the craftsman who makes barrels
- Stave — one of the curved planks forming the side
- Bulge — the curve lets a full barrel be rolled and turned by one person
- Charring — burning the inside, which shapes the flavour of whiskey
From Old French *baril*, of uncertain earlier origin. The trade of *cooper* comes from a separate Latin word, *cupa*, a vat.
Why are barrels curved?
The bulge lets one person roll and pivot a heavy barrel, and it helps the staves press tightly together under the hoops.
Where does *over a barrel* come from?
Probably from draping a drowning person over a barrel to expel water, leaving them entirely at others' mercy.