- barleycorn⇄barleycorn, noun.
1a. a grain of barley.
b. the barley plant.
2. a unit of linear measure, about one third of an inch. - Barleycorn⇄Barleycorn, noun.John
1. a name for intoxicating liquor; alcoholic beverages.
2. a humorous personification of barley as the grain from which various beers and whiskeys are obtained.