What Is Barleycorn?
A barleycorn is a very small unit used to measure length. It was first based on the length of a grain of barley. Today it is mostly used to help set shoe sizes. One barleycorn is equal to one third of an inch, which is a bit less than one centimeter.
Definition
In simple math, a barleycorn is defined like this:
- 1 barleycorn = 1 divided by 3 of an inch
- This is about 0.333 inch
- This is about 0.8467 centimeter
So if you line up three barleycorns, you get one inch. Because it is so small, it is useful for making fine steps between sizes, like in shoe lengths.
History / Origin
The barleycorn comes from old England. Long ago, people did not have modern tools to measure things, so they used parts of plants and bodies as guides. One common rule was that three dried grains of barley, laid flat end to end, should be about the same as one inch.
In the early 1300s, the English king Edward the Second used barley grains in a law that helped fix the length of the inch. From that time, the ideas of barleycorns, inches and feet were linked together.
Over many years, people began to use inches, feet and later centimeters much more. The barleycorn slowly became rare in daily life. However, it stayed important in one area, the way shoe sizes are spaced.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The barleycorn is not part of the modern metric system. It does not have one official symbol like cm for centimeter.
You may sometimes see it written in words as barleycorn. In some texts people use short forms such as bc, but this is not a fixed rule and not used everywhere.
In shoe sizing charts, the barleycorn step is usually not written at all. It is built into the size numbers. For example, one full step between two UK shoe sizes equals one barleycorn in length, but the chart only shows the size numbers.
Current Use Around the World
Today the barleycorn survives mainly in shoe sizing systems that grew from old English measures.
- United Kingdom and Ireland Adult shoe sizes change by one barleycorn from one full size to the next, about one third of an inch difference in foot length.
- Some Commonwealth countries Places such as India, Pakistan and South Africa often use UK style shoe sizes, so the barleycorn step is used there too.
- United States The idea of barleycorn steps helped shape older US shoe sizing, but modern charts usually talk in sizes and inches, not in barleycorns.
- History and study Barleycorns may appear in history books, old laws, and studies about ancient weights and measures.
Outside of these uses, people almost always measure length in millimeters, centimeters, meters or inches instead of barleycorns.
Example Conversions
Here are some easy examples to show how barleycorns relate to inches and centimeters.
- 1 barleycorn ≈ 0.333 inch ≈ 0.8467 cm
- 3 barleycorns = 1 inch ≈ 2.54 cm
- 6 barleycorns = 2 inches ≈ 5.08 cm
- 9 barleycorns = 3 inches ≈ 7.62 cm
- 30 barleycorns = 10 inches ≈ 25.4 cm
- 36 barleycorns = 12 inches = 1 foot ≈ 30.48 cm
These are rounded values, so very small differences can appear in more exact science work, but for normal life they are close enough.
Related Units
The barleycorn is closely linked to several other length units.
- Inch Three barleycorns make one inch. The inch is still widely used in the United States and in some other countries for everyday measuring.
- Foot One foot is 12 inches. Since one inch is three barleycorns, one foot is 36 barleycorns.
- Centimeter One centimeter is part of the metric system. One barleycorn is a little less than one centimeter. More exactly, 1 cm is about 1.18 barleycorns.
- Millimeter One centimeter has 10 millimeters. One barleycorn is about 8.5 millimeters.
- Point and line in printing Older printing units such as the line were also based on fractions of an inch, so they too can be linked back to barleycorns if needed.
Knowing these links makes it easier to move from old style units like barleycorns to modern units like centimeters and millimeters.
FAQs
What exactly is a barleycorn?
A barleycorn is an old English unit of length based on the size of a barley grain. It is now fixed by law as one third of an inch, which is about 0.85 centimeter.
Is the barleycorn still used today?
Yes, but only in a narrow way. It is still used under the surface in some shoe sizing systems, especially in the United Kingdom and countries that follow UK sizes. In most other areas of life it is not used.
How many barleycorns are in an inch?
There are three barleycorns in one inch. If you know the number of inches, you can find the number of barleycorns by multiplying by three.
Why did people use barley grains to measure length?
Barley grains were easy to find and were fairly similar in size when dried. In a time without modern rulers, using three grains in a row gave a simple way to copy the same length again and again.
Is a barleycorn always the same size?
Real barley grains can change size, but the measure called a barleycorn is fixed by law. Today, one barleycorn as a unit of length is always exactly one third of an inch, no matter the size of any actual grain.
How does the barleycorn affect shoe sizes?
In UK style shoe sizing, each step from one full size number to the next often adds one barleycorn to the length of the shoe. This means sizes go up in small, even steps of about one third of an inch.
Should I learn barleycorns for school or work?
In most school and work situations you only need metric units like millimeters, centimeters and meters, and sometimes inches and feet. Barleycorns are mainly helpful if you study history of measurement or work closely with detailed shoe sizing systems.