noun
barbed wire
Refers to barbed wire, often used in fencing or military contexts. Cross-referenced with 有刺鉄線 (ゆうしてっせん), a more common term for barbed wire.
See also: 有刺鉄線
戦場には荊棘線が張り巡らされていた。
Barbed wire was stretched across the battlefield.
農場の周りにばら線を設置した。
We installed barbed wire around the farm.
有刺鉄線 is the standard modern term for 'barbed wire'. 荊棘線 is a rarer, more literary synonym.
Compound of 荊棘 (ばら, 'bramble, thorny shrub') and 線 (せん, 'wire, line'). The reading ばら for 荊棘 is irregular and likely based on the native Japanese word for 'bramble'.