ONlwSG

¹bara m. [ˈb̥aɾə], 

Oftedal 1956, 128: (Lewis) /bɑrə/; Wentworth 2003, s.v.: (Gairloch) [b̥ɑrə]; Holmer 1938: (Islay) [pa.rə]; Holmer 1957, 112: (Arran) [bwɛrə].

also [ˈb̥aɾa], 

Dieckhoff 1932: bara-roth m. (Glengarry) [bara ʀòh]; Holmer 1938: (Skye) [para]; AFB^˄ /bara/.

‘barrow’; 

A ‘wheelbarrow’ is more specifically bara-roth m. and a ‘handbarrow’ bara-làimhe m., open compounds with SG roth m. ‘wheel’ and làmh f. ‘hand’, respectively, used adjectivally in the genitive.

^,  

Dwelly 1911 and AFB^˄ also give the sense ‘bier’, although note bara does not appear in a search for ‘bier’ in Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄, rather bòrd, caisil-chrò, carbad, crò-leab, eileatrom, (f)àradh, giùlan, lunnan, snaoth etc. do.

cf. Ir. bara, EG bara. Craigie (1894, 157) suggests SG bara derives from either ON barar f. nom./acc. pl. ‘litter, stretcher, bier’ or OEng. bǽr f. ‘bier’. Stokes (1892, 61, 118) supports the Old English, but Marstrander (1915a, 59) the Old Norse derivation.

Vendryes 1996 and eDIL^˄ cite both references; de Vries 1962 cites Marstrander.

McDonald (2009, 340) considers a loan from ON barar likely and compares ON farar, the gen. sg. or nom./acc. pl. of ON fǫr f. ‘journey’, without further explanation.

ON barar is likely to yield EG *barar *[ˈbaɾəɾ] and SG *barar *[ˈb̥aɾəɾ], and there is no justification for the loss of final -r. It seems reasonable to derive EG bara from MEng. barewe ‘barrow’, 

MacBain (1896) cites later MEng. barowe.

but SG bara (with vacillation between final -[ə] and -[a]) from Scots barra, barry [ˈbɑrə] etc. (SND^˄) or OScots bar(r)ow (DOST^˄) and/or Eng. barrow.