barleycorn
noun
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barleycorn
1 American
[bahr-lee-kawrn]
/ ˈbɑr liˌkɔrn /
noun
-
a grain of barley.
-
a unit of length equal to 1/3 inch (8.5 millimeters).
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Also barley corn a type of basket weave that produces an allover geometric pattern.
Barleycorn
2
American
[bahr-lee-kawrn]
/ ˈbɑr liˌkɔrn /
noun
barleycorn
British
/ ˈbɑːlɪˌkɔːn /
noun
-
a grain of barley, or barley itself
-
an obsolete unit of length equal to one third of an inch
Etymology
Origin of barleycorn
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English; see origin at barley 1, corn 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
“That should buy you a bushel o’ barleycorn.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
C.—"There you are wrong; only eleven feet, three inches—" B.—"No, believe me, I am right; twelve feet, and three inches to a barleycorn."
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 494, June 18, 1831 by Various
True it was; but the ancient virgin guessed not in her guilelessness, that the spirit was an evil one, and elicited by man and fire from the unsuspecting barleycorn.
From The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 1, August 1850 of Literature, Science and Art. by Various
"When you speak in that tone you make me wish myself a barleycorn," says Tedcastle, smiling.
From Molly Bawn by Hamilton, Margaret Wolfe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
