barleycorn
1
9.3
- noun
- /ˈbɑrliˌkɔrn/
- Archaic
- The plant grows, is fructified, and produces barleycorns again; as soon as these are ripe, the ear withers away and is negated.
Examples
-
As an abstract proposition, they care not the value of a barleycorn whether the species be perpetuated or not.
Academic text (1990) -
John Barleycorn.
-
And a gain of such magnitude is no barleycorn.
Academic text (1990) -
One day she paid a visit to a good witch... ...who gave her a tiny barleycorn.
-
In English folk myth, John Barleycorn must share the same fate so his death can restore life.
Academic text (2017) -
John Barleycorn
Blog text (25) -
- Barleycorn's, Marty.
-
" Antonia, get out of the flower bed!" It's almost 6:30 P.M. when we go to the bar where all the off-duty cops hang out, strengthening their reserve against inevitable death with the old barleycorn.
Fiction book (1999) -
When the good reverend cites the value of a barleycorn, he means "damned little." Paley, out to prove the existence and benevolence of God from the good design of organisms, faces a puzzle in analyzing behavior.
Academic text (1990) -
The baker uses finely milled barleycorn flour to make his famous bread.
Synonyms
208
1.0
An edible seed from plants like wheat or rice used as food
29
1.6
A grain people grow for food, animal feed and making beer
1
3.2
Small round white grains of barley with outer layers removed for cooking
Compounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Barleycorn is simply barley + corn, where corn once meant 'a grain' and not the modern idea of 'corn' in American English, so a barleycorn is a single 'grain' or 'seed' of barley. A helpful memory is that an old rule said three dried barleycorns placed end to end made an inch, which shows how small a barleycorn is.