different between barren vs warren

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

From Middle English warenne, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French warenne (compare Old French guarenne, garenne (“game-park”), probably ultimately from Proto-Germanic *warjan? (“ward off, defend against”); compare also Old French warir, guarir, a borrowing from this Germanic root). Alternatively from Gaulish *warrenn? (“enclosed area”), from *warros (“stick, post”), Proto-Celtic *warr? (“post, prop”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?w???n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?w???n/
• Rhymes: -???n

Noun

warren (plural warrens)

1. The system of burrows where rabbits live.
2. (figuratively) A mazelike place of passages and/or rooms in which it's easy to lose oneself; especially one that may be overcrowded.
3. (archaic) The class of small game such as hare, pheasants, stoats, etc., as opposed to beasts of chase such as deer, bear, and foxes.
4. A place legally authorized for the keeping, breeding and hunting of beasts of warren, especially rabbits.
5. (historical) The right to maintain and hunt an area of small beasts, similar to a free warren, but with certain limitations, such as restricting the right to hunt on parts of the land held by freeholders.

Derived terms

• Dawlish Warren
• free warren
• rabbit warren
• warrener

Translations

References

• warren at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Warner, warner

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?r?n

Noun

warren

1. Plural form of war

Middle English

Verb

warren

1. Alternative form of werren