Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The grain of barley.
- noun A unit of measure equal to the length of a grain of barley, or about 1/3 inch (0.85 centimeter).
from The Century Dictionary.
- A grain of barley.
- A measure equal to the third part of an inch; originally, the length of a grain of barley.
- A measure equal to the breadth of a fine grain of barley, about 0.155 inch.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A grain or “corn” of barley.
- noun Formerly , a measure of length, equal to the average length of a grain of barley; the third part of an inch.
- noun a humorous personification of barley as the source of malt liquor or whisky.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
grain ofbarley . - noun obsolete The
length of such a grain; a unit of length of approximately one third (or sometimes one quarter) of aninch or eightmillimetres , still used as a basis forshoe sizes - noun architecture, woodworking A small groove between two
mouldings .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a grain of barley
- noun a grain of barley
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"barleycorn" pseudomorphs of calcium carbonate after celestite from
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" Various
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We needed nearly all the grain for our own use; there was none to trade or sell, and only a scant few bags of barleycorn sat under canvas near the malting shed-where they were likely to rot, I thought grimly, as no one had had time to see to the malting of a fresh batch before the cold weather set in.
A Breath of Snow and Ashes Gabaldon, Diana 2005
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Asclepiades, that it is performed from the excellent quality of the sperm, after the manner that from the root of one barleycorn two or three stalks do grow; sperm that is of this quality is the most prolific.
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If I were to be led in the ardour of conversation to speak petulantly, I could produce only a trifling stock-in-trade in the noble presence but glass beads are not worth a barleycorn in the bazar of jewellers, a lamp does not shine in the presence of the sun, and a minaret looks low at the foot of Mount
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B. -- "No, believe me, I am right; twelve feet, and three inches to a barleycorn."
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 494, June 18, 1831 Various
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True it was; but the ancient virgin guessed not in her guilelessness, that the spirit was an evil one, and elicited by man and fire from the unsuspecting barleycorn.
The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 1, August 1850 of Literature, Science and Art. Various
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And now this mirror occasioned much more unhappiness than before; for some of the fragments were scarcely as large as a barleycorn, and these flew about in the world, and whenever they flew into any one's eye they stuck there, and that person saw everything wrongly, or had only eyes for the bad side of a thing, for every little fragment of the mirror had retained the power which the whole glass possessed.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 2 Charles Herbert Sylvester
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A thief said to a mendicant: "Are you not ashamed when you hold forth your hand to every mean fellow for a barleycorn of silver?"
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"When you speak in that tone you make me wish myself a barleycorn," says Tedcastle, smiling.
Molly Bawn Margaret Wolfe Hamilton
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But strong castles and gallant soldiers weighed not a barleycorn with the buccaneers when their blood was stirred by the lust of gold.
reesetee commented on the word barleycorn
An old unit of length (from the length of a grain of barley) equal to one-third of an inch.
November 7, 2007
sionnach commented on the word barleycorn
used as the basis of shoe size measurements, much to the panelists' amazement on QI:
playing poker with a witch
October 12, 2011