Barley Definition

bärlē
noun
A grass in the genus Hordeum native to temperate regions, having flowers in terminal, often long-awned spikes and widely cultivated for its grain.
American Heritage
A cereal grass (Hordeum vulgare and related species) with dense, bearded spikes of flowers, each made up of three single-seeded spikelets.
Webster's New World
The grain of H. vulgare or its varieties, used in malt production and as food for livestock and humans.
American Heritage
Its grain, used in making malt, soups, etc.
Webster's New World

A cereal of the species Hordeum vulgare, or its grains, often used as food or to make beer and other malted drinks.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Barley

Noun

Singular:
barley
Plural:
barleys

Origin of Barley

  • Middle English barli, barly, from Old English (adj.) bærlīċ (“barley-like”), from bere (“barley”) (compare Scots bere ‘six-rowed barley’), from Proto-Germanic *baraz (compare Old Norse barr), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰars- ‘spike, prickle’ (compare Welsh bara ‘bread’, Latin far ‘spelt’, Serbo-Croatian бра̏шно/brȁšno ‘flour’, Albanian bar ‘grass’, Ancient Greek Φήρον (Phḗron, “plant deity”)).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English barli from Old English bærlic bhares- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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