Barley

Forms: 1–2 bærlíc, 3 barlic, barrliȝ, 4 barlykke, barlich(e, barli, 4–8 barly, 5 berley, berlik, 6–7 barlie, -lye, 8 Sc. barlic(k, 4– barley. [OE. bærlíc, of doubtful composition: bær- seems to point to OTeut. *baroz-, *bariz-, ‘barley,’ the latter of which gave OE. bęre (see BEAR sb.²) with ę as proper umlaut of a; the suffix is evidently -líc (see -LY¹), as if bærlíc meant at first, not hordeum, but hordeāceus.

  Bærlíc first appears attrib. or as adj. in the name Bærlíce-croft; cf. also BARLEY-CORN. The notion that líc is the word léac ‘leek,’ as in OE. gárléac, ME. garleek, garleke, now garlic, is phonetically out of the question. In bær- can the vowel æ (for earlier a), instead of ę, be due to early syncopation, bærr-:—barr-, barz-, from baroz-, bariz-? Cf. ON. barr, North Fris. bar, bær. (But ON. barlak, in an Orcadian document, is prob. adopted from OE.) The Rushw. Gloss. has also bæreflór for bęreflór, and late charters bærtún for bęretún.]

966.  Cod. Dipl., VI. 79. Bærlice croft.

c. 1200.  Ormin, 15511. He fedde fif þusennde menn Wiþþ fife *barrliȝ lafess. (Cf. other attrib. instances under B.)

  1.  A hardy awned cereal (genus Hordeum), cultivated in all parts of the world; used partly as food, and largely (in Britain and the United States, mainly) in the preparation of malt liquors and spirits. a. The plant.

1303.  R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 10111. Whete corne wyl nat prykke, As otes dowun, or barlykke.

1382.  Wyclif, Ex. ix. 31. The flax thanne and barlich [1388 barli] was hurt.

1398.  Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVII. cxv. Boþe barley and bere is calde Ordeum.

1483.  Cath. Angl., 22. Barly, ordeum.

1523.  Fitzherb., Husb., § 28. Barley and otes be moste commonly mowen.

1610.  Shaks., Temp., IV. i. 61. Thy rich Leas Of Wheate, Rye, Barley.

1795.  Scots Mag., LVII. 544/1. The barleys are universally a great crop.

1872.  Oliver, Elem. Bot., II. 279. Barley is considered to have been the first Cereal brought under cultivation.

  b.  The grain. French, Pearl, Pot barley; see quot.

1124.  O. E. Chron. Man sælde … þæt bærlic þæt is þre sed læpas to six scillingas.

c. 1220.  Bestiary, 291, in O. E. Misc., 10. Ðe mire suneð ðe barlic, ðanne ȝe fint te wete.

1362.  Langl., P. Pl., A. V. 133. I bouhte hire Barly [v.r. barliche]; heo breuh hit to sulle.

c. 1440.  Partonope, 3720. Brede made of berley or ellis of ote.

1523.  Fitzherb., Husb., § 13. That is the worste barley, and foure London bushels are suffycient for an acre.

1769.  Sir J. Hill, Fam. Herb. (1789), 72. French barley is skinned, and has the ends ground off; the pearl barley is reduced by a longer grinding to a little round white lump.

1857.  Eliza Acton, Eng. Bread-Bk., 73. Pot barley is barley of which the outer husk has been removed by mill-stones; it is used for making broth.

  2.  transf.

1884.  F. Britten, Watch & Clockm., 29. Barleys … [are] the little projections formed by the operation of engine-turning.

  B.  Comb. and Attrib. (In 14–17th c. commonly barli-, barly-.)

  1.  General relations: a. objective with vbl. or agent-noun, as barley-buyer, -sower, -sowing; b. instrumental with passive pple., as barley-fed (1851); c. simple attrib. as, (of the plant) barley-crop, -earth, -eddish, -ground (1523), -field, -harvest, -rick, -seed; (of the grain) barley-bran, -chaff, -flour, -groats, -meal (1388); d. attrib. of material (= made of or with), as barley-bread, -bun, -cake, -crust, -gruel, -loaf (1200), -pudding, -scon.

1599.  Hakluyt, Voy., II. II. 80. *Barley-branne the Ilanders doe vse in stead of salt.

c. 1320.  Seuyn Sag., 1573. *Barli-bred he et for gode.

1840.  Carlyle, Heroes, ii. 111. His [Mahomet’s] … common diet was barley-bread and water.

1552.  Huloet, *Barley bunne gentleman … suche ryche niggardes as lyue wyth barley breade, or otherwise hardlye.

1393.  Gower, Conf., III. 216. Me thought I sigh a *barly-cake.

1846.  Grote, Greece, II. i. II. 297. His diet of sweet chestnuts, *barley-cakes and pork.

1865.  Derby Merc., 25 Jan. The straw of a *barley crop.

1669.  Worlidge, Syst. Agric. (1681), 247. Places for this sport, especially on the *Barley-edishes.

1851.  Kingsley, Yeast, xi. 202. Your *barley-fed hares.

1863.  Miss Whately, Ragged Life Egypt, xix. 187. *Barley-fields irrigated by a sacchia.

1620.  Venner, Via Recta, i. 18. If … *Barley flower and Rie flower … be added.

1523.  Fitzherb., Husb., § 10. Thou shalt sowe … thy beanes vpon the *barley grounde.

1769.  Mrs. Raffald, Eng. Housekpr. (1778), 315. To make *Barley Gruel.

1611.  Bible, Ruth i. 22. The beginning of *barley haruest.

1535.  Coverdale, Judg. vii. 13. A baken *barlye lofe came rollinge downe.

1488.  Act. Audit. 147 (Jam.). Fifty quarters of *berlik-malt.

1620.  Venner, Via Recta, ii. 39. Beere … made of Barly malt alone.

1382.  Wyclif, Num. v. 15. A mesure … of *barli meele.

1599.  Hakluyt, Voy., II. II. 4. Their bread was made of barley meale and goates milke.

1820.  Scott, Monast., viii. The *barley-scones, which … were so good.

  2.  Special combinations: Barley-bigg, bigg or bear, a coarse variety of barley; barley-bird, name given locally to various birds appearing about the time of barley-sowing, as the wryneck, siskin, greenfinch, and sometimes the nightingale; barley-bree, -broth, strong ale; barley-candy (= barley-sugar); barley-cracker, a machine or appliance for cracking barley; † barley-cream (= barley-milk); † barley-hat (cf. BARLEY-CAP, -HOOD); barley-hummeller, a machine for separating barley from the awns; † barley-island, an ale-house; † barly-lepe, a leap or basket for holding barley; † barley-man, one who received an allowance in barley, hordearius; † barley-milk, a decoction or gruel of barley or barley-meal; barley-mood = BARLEY-HOOD; barley-mow, a stack of barley; † barley-sele (obs. or dial.), the season for sowing barley; † barley-sick a., intoxicated; barley-straw, (fig.) a trifle; barley-sugar, a confection, usually in twisted sticks, made from sugar, formerly by boiling in a decoction of barley; barley-wine, a Greek wine or beer prepared from barley. Also BARLEY-CAP, -CORN, -HOOD, -WATER, q.v.

1552.  Huloet, *Barley bygge. Vide beerecorne.

1625.  Markham, Farew. Husb., 135. Barley-big, or beare Barley.

1768.  Pennant, Zool., II. 310. In Sussex it [the Siskin] is called the *barly-bird.

1863.  Yng. England, Aug., 127. In the Isle of Wight the bird commonly called the *barley-bird is the wryneck.

1786.  Burns, Scotch Drink, xiii. How easy can the *barley-bree Cement the quarrel!

1593.  Bacchus Bountie, in Harl. Misc. (1809), II. 273. The *barley-broath aboue all other, did beare away the bell, and … neither grape nor berry might be compared to the maiestie of the mault.

1884.  Black, Jud. Shaks., xxxi. A cupful of *barley-broth will do thee no harm.

1883.  Harper’s Mag., Jan., 277/1. *Barley-candy statuettes.

1813.  Vancouver, Agric. Devon, 131. The motion is communicated by a belt to the *barley-cracker.

1694.  Westmacott, Script. Herb., 17. Ptisan was a meat of the Antients which we now call *Barly-Cream.

c. 1500.  Blowbols Test., in Hazl., E. P. P., I. 105. They that be manly in dronkenesse for to fyte, Whan one ther hede is sett a *barly-hate.

1851.  Househ. Wds., III. 358. The chaff-cutter, the *barley-hummeller.

a. 1640.  Day, Peregr. Schol. (1881), 72. Goeing to take in fresh water at the *Barlie Iland.

c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 25. *Barly lepe, to kepe yn corne, cumera.

1601.  Holland, Pliny, I. 561. Sword-fencers, who vpon their allowance or pension giuen them in barly, were called Hordearij, (i. *Barley-men).

1607.  Topsell, Four-f. Beasts, 303. *Barly milk, or juyce called of the old Writers … Cremor Ptisanæ.

1790.  Morrison, Poems, 151 (Jam.). Hame the husband comes just roarin’ fu’; Nor can she please him in his *barlic mood.

1714.  Gay, Sheph. Week, v. 75 (J.).

c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 25. *Barlysele, tempus ordeacium.

a. 1721.  Prior, Turtle & Sp. (R.). She … could plead the law, And quarrel for a *barley-straw.

1830.  Lindley, Nat. Syst. Bot., 303. Barley-straw melts into a glass of a topaz yellow colour.

1712.  trans. Pomet’s Hist. Drugs, I. 55. *Barley-Sugar is made either of white Sugar or brown.

1883.  Knowledge, 6 July, 3/2. ‘Barley-sugar’ … was prepared by boiling down ordinary sugar in a decoction of pearl barley.

1852.  Grote, Greece, II. lxx. IX. 144. A sort of *barley-wine or beer in tubs, with the grains of barley on the surface.