'barleymow' originates from English, specifically the compound of the words 'barley' and 'mow', where 'barley' meant 'a cereal grain' and 'mow' meant 'a pile or stack of hay or sheaves'.

'barley' derives from Old English 'bere' and developed into Middle English 'barley'; 'mow' derives from Old English forms such as 'māw' and Middle English 'mowe' meaning 'a pile', and the compound 'barleymow' arose in Early Modern English to denote a stack of barley.

Initially it meant 'a pile or stack of barley', and this basic meaning has been retained, though the term has become archaic or dialectal in modern usage.