Etymograph

English

barley

Barley comes from Middle English barly, from Old English bærlīċ ‘barley-like’, from bere ‘barley’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *barī.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*barī1reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150bere2‘barley’
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150bærlīċ2‘barley-like’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500barly2‘barley’
  5. Englishtodaybarley2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English bere
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English barley

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*barīWiktionary, Old English berereconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150bereWiktionary, English barley‘barley’
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150bærlīċWiktionary, English barley‘barley-like’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500barlyWiktionary, English barley‘barley’
  5. EnglishtodaybarleyWiktionary, English barley

Formed from bere + -ly

Proto-Germanic *baraz ‘barley’

Proto-West Germanic *barī ‘barley’

Old English bere ‘barley’

Middle English bere ‘barley’

English bere

Linked words

through Old English bere

barn, bere

Today it means

noun A cereal of the species Hordeum vulgare or its grains, often used as food or to make beer and other malted drinks.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “barley”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English bere. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *barī / barley

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