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• barleycorn
  barleycorn

  noun

  barley.
• Barleycorn
  Barleycorn

  noun

  John. John Barleycorn.

barleycorn

¹ American  

[bahr-lee-kawrn] / ˈbɑr liˌkɔrn /

noun

1. barley.

2. a grain of barley.

3. a unit of length equal to 1/3 inch (8.5 millimeters).

4. Also barley corn a type of basket weave that produces an allover geometric pattern.

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Barleycorn ² American  

[bahr-lee-kawrn] / ˈbɑr liˌkɔrn /

noun

1. John. John Barleycorn.

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barleycorn British  

/ ˈbɑːlɪˌkɔːn /

noun

1. a grain of barley, or barley itself

2. an obsolete unit of length equal to one third of an inch

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Etymology

Origin of barleycorn

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English; see origin at barley ¹, corn ¹

Example Sentences

“That should buy you a bushel o’ barleycorn.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

They had cheese and milk from the goats that shared the caves with the singers, even some oats and barleycorn and dried fruit laid by during the long summer.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Here is a barleycorn; it is not exactly of the same sort as those which grow in the farmers' fields, and which the chickens eat.

From Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales First Series by Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian)

They are very small, have almost globular heads, and a very minute beak, so that fanciers say the head of a perfect bird should resemble a cherry with a barleycorn stuck in it.

From Darwinism (1889) by Wallace, Alfred Russel

And, my brethren, what merit is gathered by hiding the truth from an old man, for such concealments are separated from falsehoods but by the length of a single barleycorn.

From Ayesha, the Return of She by Haggard, Henry Rider