BARIL'LA, noun A plant cultivated in Spain for its ashes, from which the purest kind of mineral alkali is obtained; used in making glass and soap, and in bleaching linen. The plant is cut and laid in heaps, and burnt, the salts running into a hole in the ground where they form a vitrified lump. 2. The alkali procured from this plant.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI