barren

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See also: Barren

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English bareyne, from Anglo-Norman baraigne, baraing (sterile; barren), of obscure origin; probably from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *baʀ (bare; barren), from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (bare). If so, a doublet of bare.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

barren (comparative barrener or more barren, superlative barrenest or most barren)

  1. (not comparable) Unable to bear children; sterile.
    • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      Forget not, in your speed, Antonius,
      To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say,
      The barren, touched in this holy chase,
      Shake off their sterile curse.
    I silently wept as my daughter's husband rejected her. What would she do now that she was no longer a maiden but also barren?
  2. Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation.
  3. Bleak.
  4. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
    • Augusr 28, 1731, Jonathan Swift, letter to John Gay
      But schemes are perfectly accidental. Some will appear barren of hints and matter, but prove to be fruitful.
    • 1843, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, [], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Harper and Brothers, [], →OCLC:
      brilliant but barren reveries
    • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 270:
      When the entire coast-line becomes a sea of waving palms, with Chinese and Malay villages fringing the shores, which are at present mere barren wastes of mangroves, with plantations of pepper, of gambier, and of tapioca and rice, the Northern Territory, backed up by the unswerving energy of the Australian squatter, miner, and planter, will present a spectacle almost unknown in the scheme of British colonization.
    • 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:
      Rooney had been suffered a barren spell for England with only one goal in 15 games but he was in no mood to ignore the gifts on offer in front of an increasingly subdued Bulgarian support.
    • 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Technology: Terraforming Codex entry:
      Terraforming even a barren planet often involves significant financial and ethical hurdles.
  5. Mentally dull; stupid.

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

barren (plural barrens)

  1. An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.
    The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.

Translations[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Basque[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /baren/, [ba.rẽ̞n]

Etymology 1[edit]

Adjective[edit]

barren (comparative barrenago, superlative barrenen, excessive barrenegi)

  1. deep
Declension[edit]

Noun[edit]

barren inan

  1. interior
  2. guts, stomach
  3. (figurative) soul, spirit
Declension[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Particle[edit]

barren

  1. A particle used to give certainty or emphasis.
    Jada dakit barren!I already know that!

Further reading[edit]

  • "barren" in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], euskaltzaindia.eus
  • barren” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], euskaltzaindia.eus

Catalan[edit]

Verb[edit]

barren

  1. third-person plural present indicative form of barrar

Middle English[edit]

Adjective[edit]

barren

  1. Alternative form of bareyne

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Noun[edit]

barren m

  1. definite singular of barre

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Noun[edit]

barren m

  1. definite singular of barre

Spanish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaren/ [ˈba.rẽn]
  • Rhymes: -aren
  • Syllabification: ba‧rren

Verb[edit]

barren

  1. inflection of barrar:
    1. third-person plural present subjunctive
    2. third-person plural imperative
  2. third-person plural present indicative of barrer

Swedish[edit]

Noun[edit]

barren

  1. definite singular of barr c (parallel bars)
  2. definite plural of barr n (needle)