What does "許り" (Bakari) mean and what happens when you combine it with ka, ni and denaku (bakarini) (bakarika) (bakaridenaku)


If I put 許 into a Japanese dictionary I get either the results "gari" or "kyo"
for it alone, which don't seem to be words on there own but there is a meaning
explained. Jisho says the kanji means permit or approve, which seems to be
more in line with kyo words.

Anywho, it is used for the "baka" part in bakari, bakarini and bakaridenaku.
I've noticed so far in Japanese that a lot of parts of words combine to make
new words (sometimes of another word class entirely). Plenty of times the
combination seems to make sense. And I wonder if the same goes here. What does
bakari mean at its core if it has one and why does combining it with these
other things result in these new meanings?




Your post has the
[**etymology**](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/etymology)
tag, and since I'm that kind of word nerd, here it is.

## Derivation of ばかり

This arose from regular verb はかる, variously spelled in kanji as 計る, 量る, 測る,
図る, 謀る, or 諮る, with an underlying meaning of _"to measure"_. This derived in
turn from the noun はか with an underlying meaning of _"measure, amount"_.

The meaning of ばかり apparently started from a sense of _"a full measure of, as
much as..., of this amount"_ , in keeping with the term's origins. Over time,
this positive sense of fulfilling an amount shifted instead to indicating a
negative sense of limitation to that amount: from _"a **full measure** of XX"_
to _" **no more than** XX"_.

There was actually a similar shift in meaning in the English term _"just"_.
This started as _"right, proper, true"_ with a positive sense, which is still
evident when used as an adjective: _"a **just** law"_. Over time, this shifted
to a negative limiting sense when used as an adverb: _" **just** a law"_.

Online references:

  * Daijirin entry at [Weblio](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A)
  * Daijisen entry at [goo jisho](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/174835/meaning/m0u/)

