BARRENER

Etymology

Adjective

barrener

comparative form of barren

Noun

barrener (plural barreners)

A barren animal, one that cannot bear young.

Source: Wiktionary


BARREN

Bar"ren, a. Etym: [OE. barein, OF. brehaing, brehaigne, baraigne, F. bréhaigne; of uncertain origin; cf. Arm. brékha, markha, sterile; LL. brana a sterile mare, principally in Aquitanian and Spanish documents; Bisc. barau, baru, fasting.]

1. Incapable of producing offspring; producing no young; sterile; -- She was barren of children. Bp. Hall.

2. Not producing vegetation, or useful vegetation; "Barren mountain tracts." Macaulay.

3. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty. Brilliant but barren reveries. Prescott. Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter. Swift.

4. Mentally dull; stupid. Shak. Barren flower, a flower which has only stamens without a pistil, or which as neither stamens nor pistils.

– Barren Grounds (Geog.), a vast tract in British America northward of the forest regions.

– Barren Ground bear (Zoöl.), a peculiar bear, inhabiting the Barren Grounds, now believed to be a variety of the brown bear of Europe.

– Barren Ground caribou (Zoöl.), a small reindeer (Rangifer Groenlandicus) peculiar to the Barren Grounds and Greenland.

Bar"ren, n.

1. A tract of barren land.

2. pl.

Definition: Elevated lands or plains on which grow small trees, but not timber; as, pine barrens; oak barrens. They are not necessarily sterile, and are often fertile. [Amer.] J. Pickering.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

5 November 2024

TEMPORIZE

(verb) draw out a discussion or process in order to gain time; “The speaker temporized in order to delay the vote”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest iced coffee is 14,228.1 liters and was created by Caffé Bene (South Korea), in Yangju, South Korea, on 17 July 2014. They poured iced black Americano on the giant cup that measured 3.3 meters tall and 2.62 meters wide.

coffee icon