john barleycorn

john bar·ley·corn

J j

Definitions of john barleycorn words

noun john barleycorn a personification of barley as used in malt liquor, of malt liquor itself, or of any intoxicating liquor. 1
noun john barleycorn the personification of alcohol, esp of malt spirits 0
noun john barleycorn corn liquor, malt liquor, etc. 0

before 1610

One of the 40% oldest English words

First recorded in 1610-20

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 27% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

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