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barren

Pronunciation: /ˈbæɹən/

The English word “barren” has 9 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile.
  2. Not bearing seed or fruit.
  3. Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation; desert, waste.
  4. Devoid, lacking.
  5. Devoid of interest or attraction, poor, bleak.
  6. Unproductive, fruitless, unprofitable; empty, hollow, vain.
  7. Mentally dull or unproductive; stupid or intellectually fallow.

noun

  1. An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.
  2. In particular, a usually elevated and flat expanse of land that only supports the growth of small trees and shrubs, and sometimes mosses or heathers, berries, and other marshy or moory vegetation, but little agriculture and few people.

Etymology

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 cognate of English bare.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.