Thank you for posting this. Ask and you will see that this has been quite a mystery. I wonder why. Many are told it is not an acronym for “British Accredited Registry.” They will say that aside from making little sense, this assertion is patently false.

This is what they are told about the origins of the term “bar” as it relates to legal practice:

The word “bar” refers to the railing that separates the working area of the court from the spectator area.
The word “bar” in bar exam or bar association refers to the community of lawyers admitted to practice law. It derives from the physical rail or bar that divides the gallery from the part of the courtroom where the lawyers, parties, judge, and jury sit. Thus, lawyers must literally “pass the bar” to enter a courtroom.