Etymology

From Middle English barli, barly, from Old English (adj.) bærlīċ ‎(“barley-like”), from bere ‎(“barley”) (compare Scots bere ‎(“six-rowed barley”)), from Proto-Germanic *baraz (compare Old Norse barr), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰars- ‘spike, prickle’ (compare Welsh bara ‎(“bread”), Latin far ‎(“spelt”), Serbo-Croatian бра̏шно/brȁšno ‘flour’, Albanian bar ‎(“grass”), Ancient Greek Φήρον ‎(Phḗron, “plant deity”)).