noun
barley
BAH-lee
noun
1
A cereal grain grown for food, animal feed, and brewing beer and whisky.
"The fields of barley swayed gold in the late-summer wind."
"Barley is a key ingredient in most beers."
How to Use Barley
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA grain crop used mainly for animal feed, food, and brewing.
Common pairings
pearl barley
barley field
malted barley
Word Forms
barleys plural, Barleys plural
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The fields of _____ swayed gold in the late-summer wind.
Etymology
From Old English bærlīċ, originally an adjective meaning "barley-like," ultimately from a very old root related to "spike" or "prickle" — describing the grain's bristly seed head.