Definition of "water-barrel" [water-barrel]

• A water-cask. (noun)
• In mining, a large wrought-iron bar rel with a self-acting valve in the bottom, used in drawing water where there are no pumps. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "The agony of the wretch I did not fully realize until the steward, his bare fore-arms sprayed by the splash from the ventilator slats, suddenly felt the bite of the acid through his tight, whole skin and made a mad rush for the water-barrel at the corner of the house."
• "Then he went to attend the man, and when he had cured him he gave him the necessary sum to buy a horse and a water-barrel."
• "“That young fellow there I can recommend to you as an awful rascal,” said my neighbor, pointing to a laborer with a swarthy, gipsy face, who drove by with the water-barrel."