Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bere

/bɪɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.23 in modern English

Syllables: bere
IPA: /bɪɚ/

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Barley, especially four-rowed barley or six-rowed barley.

Uncountable

noun

A pillowcase; a fabric case or covering as for a pillow; a pillowbere.

Example Sentences

"Woven and embroidered coverlets in imitation of tapestry appear as 'a tapestry covering which lieth on my bed' [...] 'a pillow of feathers with a bere' (pillow-case); 'two pillows and the beres to [cover them]'"
"[...] he'd tossed me an extra pillow in a bere."

Etymology

From Middle English bere (“barley”), from Old English bere (“barley”), from Proto-West Germanic *barī, from Proto-Germanic *baraz (“barley”). Compare Welsh bara (“bread”), Latin far (“emmer”), Serbo-Croatian бра̏шно/brȁšno (“flour”), Albanian bar (“grass”), Ancient Greek Φήρον (Phḗron, “plant deity”). See also: barley.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: bere, *barī, *baraz

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /bɪɚ/
British English: /bɪə/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

bear (alternative) beres (plural)

Derived Forms

beremeal

Homonyms

beer bier bear (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger)

Rhymes With

year near clear career fear appear dear beer premier severe engineer gear

Questions

How do you pronounce bere?: The recorded pronunciation is /bɪɚ/.
What does bere mean?: Barley, especially four-rowed barley or six-rowed barley.
Where does bere come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce bere

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bere”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bɪɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bere”.
Repeat and practice — Say “bere” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.