'barkometer' originates from English, specifically the word 'bark' and the combining form '-ometer', where 'bark' meant 'to utter a short loud cry' and '-ometer' meant 'measuring device'.

'barkometer' was coined in modern English as a blend of 'bark' + '-ometer' (the latter ultimately from Greek 'metron' via Latin/French) to form a humorous or nonce technical-sounding term; it does not have a long historical lineage and is a 20th/21st century coinage.

Initially, as a coined term, it meant 'a device for measuring barking' and has retained that humorous or descriptive meaning in modern informal use.