Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BAR'LEY, n. [W. barlys; Sax. bere. Qu. L. far, Gr. πυρος, Heb. בר, bar, corn. In the Saxon Chronicle, An. 1124, it is written bærlie. Owen renders it bread-corn, from bara, bread.]

A species of valuable grain, used especially for making malt, from which are distilled liquors of extensive use, as beer, ale, and porter. It is of the genus Hordeum, consisting of several species. Those principally cultivated in England, are the common spring barley, the long eared barley, the winter or square barley, by some called big, and the sprat or battledore barley. This grain is used in medicine, as possessing emollient, diluent, and expectorant qualities. – Encyc. Miller. Arbuthnot.