Word
barley
Phoneticsbar·ley
US/ˈbɑɹɫi/
UK/bˈɑːli/
Definitions
01the grain/plant
n. a cereal plant that produces grain used for making flour, beer, and animal food.
n. a hardy cereal plant (Hordeum vulgare) that produces grain used as a food staple and as a source of malt for brewing and distilling.
“The farmer harvested the barley in late summer to sell to the local brewery.”
“Barley is a versatile crop that thrives in cooler climates where other cereal grains might struggle to produce a consistent yield.”
02food ingredient
n. the small, hard seeds of the barley plant used in cooking, especially in soups.
n. the processed grains of the barley plant, often pearled, used as a culinary ingredient for its chewy texture and nutty flavour.
“She added a handful of barley to the vegetable soup to make it more filling.”
“The chef recommended using pearl barley instead of rice to provide a more robust texture to the winter broth.”
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Wheat and barley were selected as the focus of the study because both are grain crops of major agronomic interest.” “Yotam Ottolenghi’s pot barley and mushroom salad with crisp caraway onions: earthy mushrooms combine with hearty pot barley to winning effect.” “When we returned home, the two of us would cool off over ice-cold glasses of mugicha (barley tea).” Etymology
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/barley