Etymograph

English

bere

Bere comes from Middle English bere ‘barley’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *baraz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baraz1‘barley’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*barī1‘barley’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150bere1‘barley’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bere1‘barley’
  5. Englishtodaybere1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bere

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*barazWiktionary, English bere‘barley’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*barīWiktionary, English bere‘barley’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150bereWiktionary, English bere‘barley’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bereWiktionary, English bere‘barley’
  5. EnglishtodaybereWiktionary, English bere

Linked words

through Old English bere ‘barley’

barn, barley

through Middle English bere ‘barley’

bear, 1 more

Today it means

noun Barley, especially four-rowed barley or six-rowed barley.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “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-Germanic *baraz / bere

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