[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/barleycorn/)

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# barleycorn

noun (barleycorns)

«barleycorn» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A barleycorn is one grain of barley, a tiny seed from the barley plant. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/barleycorn/#m1)
2. An old unit of length, about a third of an inch, used in old measuring. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/barleycorn/#m2)

### In the lessons

in fairy tales a single grain stands for something very small or very precious, as when a fairy asks for only one barleycorn in place of jewels.

### Examples

- One barleycorn is a tiny grain of barley. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/barleycorn/#x1)
- The hen pecked up every barleycorn in the yard. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/barleycorn/#x2)
- The fairy said she would rather have one barleycorn than all the jewels. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/barleycorn/#x3)

### Note

nothing for maths; a count of barleycorns is just a count of single grains.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «barleycorn» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/barleycorn/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«barleycorn» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/barleycorn.html) on Mova free.