By only a very small amount; almost not. It shows that something just managed to happen or be true.
It comes from Middle English “barely,” meaning plainly or openly, from “bare,” meaning uncovered. Over time, the meaning shifted from “plainly” to “only just.”
“Barely” originally had a sense of being “bare” or plain, but it slid into meaning “just enough and no more.” When you say you barely passed, you’re picturing success stripped down to its thinnest possible form.
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