Big John wrote
1. A 'barrel roll' is a roll where (if done properly) you as a
passenger, with your eyes closed, can not tell you did a roll.
The ball stays centered and if one 'G' is maintained, it feels
like straight and level flight. Starting nose position and of
course air speed varies between underpoweed GA aircraft and
super sonic Fghters.

Hey John, I didn't make-up that post, it came straight from:

http://acro.harvard.edu

The Barrel Roll is a not competition maneuver. The barrel roll is a
combination between
a loop and a roll. You complete one loop while completing one roll at
the same time.
The flight path during a barrel roll has the shape of a horizontal
cork screw. Imagine a big
barrel, with the airplanes wheels rolling along the inside of the
barrel in a cork screw path.
During a barrel roll, the pilot experiences always positive G's. The
maximum is about 2.5 to
3 G, the minimum about 0.5 G.

Care to give us a reference for your definition?

Bob