BARLEY

[bar.ley] n [ME barly, fr. OE baerlic of barley; akin to OE bere barley, L far spelt] (bef. 12c): a cereal grass (genus Hordeum, esp. H. vulgare) having the flowers in dense spikes with long awns and three spikelets at each joint of the rachis; also: its seed used esp. in malt beverages, breakfast foods, and stock feeds