barley
/'bɑ:li/
Definition
- Noun:
- A type of cereal plant: Barley is a hardy grain crop that has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years.
- The edible grain produced by this plant: Barley refers to the small, pale seeds of the barley plant, used for food, animal feed, and in making beverages.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- Barley is often used in soups and stews.
- Farmers harvested the barley in the late summer.
- This whiskey is made from malted barley.
Advanced Usage
- "Pearl barley": Barley grains that have been polished to remove the outer husk and bran layers.
- The recipe calls for pearl barley, which cooks faster than hulled barley.
- "Barley water": A traditional drink made by boiling barley grains in water.
- She drank barley water for its supposed health benefits.
Variants and Related Words
- Barleycorn (n): An old unit of measurement based on the length of a grain of barley; also a single grain of barley.
- The inch was historically defined as three barleycorns.
- Barley sugar (n): A type of hard, clear candy originally made with barley water.
- He offered the child a piece of barley sugar.
Synonyms
- Cereal grain: A general term for grasses cultivated for their edible grains, like wheat, rye, and barley.
- (Specific to malt production) Malt: Barley that has been soaked, germinated, and dried, used in brewing and distilling.
Related Phrases
- To be worth one's barley: An old idiom meaning to be worth one's keep or to earn one's sustenance.
- The new farmhand proved he was worth his barley.
Notes on Meaning
Barley is primarily an agricultural and culinary term. Its most common use is to refer to the grain itself, which is a staple food and a key ingredient in beer and whisky production. The word is rarely used metaphorically.
Noun
-
cultivated since prehistoric times; grown for forage and grain
-
a grain of barley
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