barley
barley Lexical Profile
barley Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The edible grain of the barley plant, commonly used in brewing beer, distilling spirits, and as a component of human food or animal fodder.
"She added a handful of pearl barley to the vegetable stew to thicken the savory broth."
A widely cultivated cereal plant of the grass family (genus Hordeum), characterized by distinctive bristles on its flower heads and grown primarily in temperate climates.
"The farmer planted a large field of winter barley to ensure an early harvest the following year."
• Rhymes for barley
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'bærlic', originally an adjective meaning 'of barley', derived from 'bære' (barley) combined with the suffix '-lic' (like). It traces back to Proto-Germanic '*bariz', related to the Latin word 'far' meaning grain.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.