Barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting (in beer and whisky) and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa. In 2007 ranking of cereal crops in the world, barley was fourth both in terms of quantity produced (136 million tons) and in area of cultivation (566,000 km²).
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Barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting (in beer and whisky) and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa. In 2007 ranking of cereal crops in the world, barley was fourth both in terms of quantity produced (136 million tons) and in area of cultivation (566,000 km²).
The Oxford English Dictionary records the derivation from the Old English bærlic "barley", although the -lic ending may indicate it was an adjective pertaining to the crop or plant, rather than a noun. It was first recorded around 966 CE in the compound word bærlic-croft. The old English word was bære, which was related to the Latin word farina "flour", and gave rise to bærlic meaning "of barley". It survives in the north of Scotland as bere, and refers to a specific strain of six-row barley grown there. The word barn, which originally meant...
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