barley

¹ American  

[bahr-lee] / ˈbɑr li /

noun

1. a widely distributed cereal plant belonging to the genus Hordeum, of the grass family, having awned flowers that grow in tightly bunched spikes, with three small additional spikes at each node.

2. the grain of this plant, used as food and in making beer, ale, and whiskey.

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barley ² American  

[bahr-lee] / ˈbɑr li /

noun

Scot. and North England.

plural

barleys

1. a truce or quarter, especially in children's games; parley.

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barley ¹ British  

/ ˈbɑːlɪ /

noun

1. any of various erect annual temperate grasses of the genus Hordeum , esp H. vulgare , that have short leaves and dense bristly flower spikes and are widely cultivated for grain and forage

2. the grain of any of these grasses, used in making beer and whisky and for soups, puddings, etc See also pearl barley

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barley ² British  

/ ˈbɑːlɪ /

1. dialect a cry for truce or respite from the rules of a game

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Etymology

Origin of barley¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English bærlīc (adj.), equivalent to bær- (variant of bere barley; akin to Old Norse barr barley, Gothic barizeins made of barley, Serbo-Croatian brȁšno flour, Latin far emmer; all < European Indo-European *bHaer- spike, prickle, perhaps akin to beard ) + -līc -ly

Origin of barley²

1805–15; probably to be identified with Scots barley, burley, birlie local customary law (Compare birleyman arbiter, birleycourt neighborhood court), variant of birlaw, Medieval Latin birlawe, birelegia, birelag < Old Norse *býjarlagu, equivalent to býjar, genitive singular of býr town ( bower ¹, byre ) + *lagu law ¹; compare bylaw ( def. )

Example Sentences

This tasting session was in the 232 Bar, named after the temperature at which the barley is roasted to get the distinctive flavour.

From BBC

He says the break-even point for barley is more than £200 per tonne, and around half of it is sold in contracts for future delivery.

From BBC

They then tested the concept in barley and found that the mechanism worked there as well.

From Science Daily

She suggested I increase my fibre intake - either by eating more oats, barley, beans, nuts and seeds, or by taking supplements of gel-forming fibre.

From BBC

Starch grains from wheat and barley, along with clear signs of milling, cooking, and baking, indicated that his meals included cooked wheat semolina and baked wheat bread.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• corn
• fodder
• forage
• grain
• hay
• meal