different between barren vs baren

English

Etymology

From Middle English barein, barain, from Old French baraigne, baraing (“sterile; barren”), of obscure origin; probably from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *bar (“bare; barren”), from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare”). More at bare.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?bæ??n/
• Rhymes: -ær?n
• Homophone: baron (in some accents)

Adjective

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

1. (not comparable) Unable to bear children; sterile.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar:

     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.
   • 1843, William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico

     brilliant but barren reveries

   • 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.
5. Mentally dull; stupid.
   • 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III, ii

     Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too.

Synonyms

• sterile

Antonyms

• fertile
• fruitful

Translations

Noun

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

Anagrams

• Barner

Basque

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ba.ren/

Etymology 1

Adjective

barren (comparative barrenago, superlative barrenen, excessive barrenegi)

1. deep

Declension

Noun

barren inan

1. interior
2. guts, stomach
3. (figuratively) soul, spirit

Declension

Etymology 2

barren

1. A particle used to give certainty or emphasis.

Further reading

• “barren” in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus
• “barren” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus

Catalan

Verb

barren

1. third-person plural present indicative form of barrar

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

barren m

1. definite singular of barre

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

barren m

1. definite singular of barre

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?baren/, [?ba.r?n]

Verb

barren

1. Second-person plural (ustedes) present indicative form of barrer.
2. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes^?) present indicative form of barrer.

Swedish

Noun

barren

1. definite singular of barr
2. definite plural of barr

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese ?? (baren).

Noun

baren (plural baren or barens)

1. A tool for pressing woodcuts, consisting of a disk with a coil of string glued to one side, covered with a smooth sheet.

Anagrams

• Abner, Beran, Béarn, NBAer, Naber, benar, brane

Danish

Noun

baren c

1. definite singular of bar

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ba?r?(n)/
• Hyphenation: ba?ren
• Rhymes: -a?r?n

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch baren. The a in the stem and the weak inflection are unetymological, but their origin is unknown. The form developed from and displaced the older strong beren (still found in modern ontberen), from Old Dutch beran, from Proto-Germanic *beran?. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *b?er-.

Verb

baren

1. (transitive) to bear, to give birth to
2. (transitive) to cause, to bring about

Inflection

The strong past participle geboren is also used, but only with the meaning "given birth, born".

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Noun

baren

1. plural of baar

Anagrams

• Béarn

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch beran, from Proto-West Germanic *beran.

Verb

b?ren

1. to bear, to carry
2. to give birth to

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: baren

Further reading

• “baren (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “baren (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN, page II

Middle English

Noun

baren

1. Alternative form of barn (“child”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

baren m

1. definite singular of bar

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

baren m

1. definite singular of bar

Swedish

Noun

baren

1. definite singular of bar

Anagrams

• benar