barley

Meaning

1. (uncountable, usually) A cereal of the species Hordeum vulgare, or its grains, often used as food or to make beer and other malted drinks.
2. (Singapore, uncountable, usually) The seed of Job's tears. (Coix lacryma-jobi)

Synonyms

wheat

grain

barleycorn

oats

fodder

fodder plant

forage

etc.

grass

millet

namely

oat

corn

🌽

paddy

pasture

sorghum

staff of life

sugarplums

two-rowed barley

cereal

Hordeum

bere

Hordeum vulgare

common barley

hordeum

Translations

orge

Gerste

orzo

cebada

cevada

gerst

κριθάρι

hordeum

ordi

arpa

شعير

Hordeum

òrdi

Weizen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɑɹli/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: barly

Inherited from Old English: bærlīċ

Cognate with Scots: bere

Cognate with Old Norse: barr

Cognate with English: brew

In summary

From Middle English barly, barli, from Old English bærlīċ (“barley-like”, adjective) (later referring to barley itself and grain crops of similar appearance), from bere (“barley”) (compare Scots bere (“six-rowed barley”)), from Proto-Germanic *baraz (compare Old Norse barr), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- (“spike, prickle”). Equivalent to bere + -ly. See English brew.