Meanings
barley1
plural barleys
- uncountableusuallyA cereal of the species Hordeum vulgare or its grains, often used as food or to make beer and other malted drinks.
- SingaporeuncountableusuallyThe seed of Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi).
Barley2
plural Barleys
- countableuncountableA village in Hertfordshire, England.
- countableuncountableA village in Lancashire, England.
- countableuncountableA surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
barley · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰers-“spike, prickle”
- Proto-Germanic*baraz
- Old Englishbærlīċ“barley-like”
- Middle Englishbarly
- Englishbarley
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Barley · proper noun
- Old Englishbera“bear”
- EnglishBarley
* The village in Hertfordshire is from "Beora's ley," from *Beora + -ley (“clearing, lea”). The former is a personal name from Old English bera (“bear”). * The village in Lancashire is from Old English bar (“boar”) or bere (“barley”) + leah (“clearing”). * As an English surname, from the noun barley. As a south German surname, spelling variant of Behrle, Beerli, themselves related to the noun bear.
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans gars
- garsHordeum vulgare or its grains
Ancient Greek κριθή, κρῖ
- κριθή (krithḗ)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
- κρῖ (krî)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Arabic شَعِير
- شَعِير (šaʕīr)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Basque garagar
- garagarHordeum vulgare or its grains
Bulgarian ечеми́к
- ечеми́к (ečemík)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Catalan ordi
- ordiHordeum vulgare or its grains
Chinese Cantonese 大麥 /大麦
- 大麥 /大麦 (daai⁶ mak⁶)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Chinese Mandarin 大麥 /大麦, 洋薏
- 大麥 /大麦 (dàmài)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
- 洋薏 (yángyì)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Czech ječmen
- ječmenHordeum vulgare or its grains
Danish byg
- bygHordeum vulgare or its grains
Dutch gerst
- gerstHordeum vulgare or its grains
Esperanto hordeo
- hordeoHordeum vulgare or its grains
Estonian oder
- oderHordeum vulgare or its grains
Finnish ohra
- ohraHordeum vulgare or its grains
French orge
- orgeHordeum vulgare or its grains
German Gerste
- GersteHordeum vulgare or its grains
Greek κριθάρι
- κριθάρι (krithári)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Hawaiian palaoa huluhulu
- palaoa huluhuluHordeum vulgare or its grains
Hebrew שעורה
- שעורה (s‘ora)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Hindi जौ
- जौ (jau)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Hungarian árpa
- árpaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Icelandic bygg
- byggHordeum vulgare or its grains
Irish eorna
- eornaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Italian orzo
- orzoHordeum vulgare or its grains
Japanese 大麦, オオムギ
- 大麦 (ōmugi)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
- オオムギ (ōmugi)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Korean 보리
- 보리 (bori)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Latin hordeum
- hordeumHordeum vulgare or its grains
Latvian mieži
- miežiHordeum vulgare or its grains
Lithuanian miežis
- miežisHordeum vulgare or its grains
Malay barli, beras belanda
- barliHordeum vulgare or its grains
- beras belandaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Norwegian bygg
- byggHordeum vulgare or its grains
Persian جو
- جو (jow)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Polish jęczmień
- jęczmieńHordeum vulgare or its grains
Portuguese cevada
- cevadaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Punjabi ਜੌਂ
- ਜੌਂ (jaũ)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Romanian orz
- orzHordeum vulgare or its grains
Russian ячме́нь
- ячме́нь (jačménʹ)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Scottish Gaelic eòrna
- eòrnaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Slovak jačmeň
- jačmeňHordeum vulgare or its grains
Spanish cebada
- cebadaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Swahili shayiri
- shayiriHordeum vulgare or its grains
Swedish korn
- kornHordeum vulgare or its grains
Tagalog sebada
- sebadaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Tamil வாற்கோதுமை
- வாற்கோதுமை (vāṟkōtumai)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Thai บาร์เลย์
- บาร์เลย์ (baa-lêe)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Turkish arpa
- arpaHordeum vulgare or its grains
Ukrainian ячмі́нь
- ячмі́нь (jačmínʹ)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Urdu جو
- جو (jau)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Vietnamese lúa mạch
- lúa mạchHordeum vulgare or its grains
Welsh haidd, barlys
- haiddHordeum vulgare or its grains
- barlysHordeum vulgare or its grains
Yiddish גערשט
- גערשט (gersht)Hordeum vulgare or its grains
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with barley
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
barley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barley
“barley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barley. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barley,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barley.
Source: barley on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.