Past tense of barrage; attacked or bombarded with a large number of shots, shells, or questions all at once.
From French barrage (from barre, a bar or barrier), originally meaning artillery fire across a wide front. The military sense evolved to metaphorical uses for any overwhelming bombardment.
The term 'barrage' was invented during World War I to describe a new military tactic—instead of aiming at specific targets, artillery would fire continuously across a wide area to devastate everything in it.
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