Where does “barleycorn” come from?
barleycorn (English) comes from English barley, from Middle English barly, from Old English bærlīċ, from Old English bere, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum — smoke; mist, haze.
barleycorn (English): A grain of barley; The length of such a grain; a...
Definitions
- A grain of barley; The length of such a grain; a...
Ancestry of “barleycorn”, step by step
barleycorn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English barley
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | barley | A cereal of the species "Hordeum vulgare", or its... |
| 2 | Middle English | barly | barley plant |
| 3 | Old English | bærlīċ | barley-like |
| 4 | Old English | bere | barley; first-person singular present indicative... |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via English corn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | corn | The main cereal plant grown for its grain in a... |
| 2 | Middle English | corn | Any plant that bears grain, especially wheat; a... |
| 3 | Old English | corn | corn, a grain or seed; a cornlike pimple, a corn... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | korn | corn, grain, cereal |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kurną | corn, grain, cereal |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵr̥h₂nóm | grain |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵr̥h₂nós | matured, grown old |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵerh₂- | to grow old, to mature |