The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Barrage \Bar"rage\, n. [F., fr. barrer to bar, from barre bar.]
   (Engin.)
   An artificial bar or obstruction placed in a river or
   watercourse to increase the depth of water; as, the barrages
   of the Nile.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

barrage
    n 1: the rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic
         communication (spoken or written); "a barrage of
         questions"; "a bombardment of mail complaining about his
         mistake" [syn: barrage, bombardment, outpouring,
         onslaught]
    2: the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than
       hit a specific target; "they laid down a barrage in front of
       the advancing troops"; "the shelling went on for hours
       without pausing" [syn: barrage, barrage fire, battery,
       bombardment, shelling]
    v 1: address with continuously or persistently, as if with a
         barrage; "The speaker was barraged by an angry audience";
         "The governor was bombarded with requests to grant a pardon
         to the convicted killer" [syn: bombard, barrage]