Jump to:

• 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.

---

Barleycorn ² American  

[bahr-lee-kawrn] / ˈbɑr liˌkɔrn /

noun

1. John. John Barleycorn.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of barleycorn

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

Example Sentences

I started reading it and on page one the characters are all singing "Barleycorn" by Johnny Flynn.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2022

The New York Times took a cheekier approach with its front page headline: “John Barleycorn Died Peacefully at the Toll of 12.”

From New York Times • Jan. 1, 2020

Later, about 300 people gathered for a fundraiser at John Barleycorn in River North, where the price of admission was a symbolic $20.16 per person.

From Chicago Tribune • Jun. 5, 2014

John Barleycorn, meanwhile, is tortured, killed and resuscitated, but in this parable of the agricultural cycle, it seems to me he is something of a straw man.

From The Guardian • Apr. 8, 2010

Nine, Tom Barleycorn had said, and nine there were, but two were dead and one so weak he might have died by morning.

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