The Collaborative International Dictionary
Barren \Bar"ren\ (b[a^]r"ren), a. [OE. barein, OF. brehaing, fem. brehaigne, baraigne, F. br['e]haigne; of uncertain origin; cf. Arm. br['e]kha[~n], markha[~n], sterile; LL. brana a sterile mare, principally in Aquitanian and Spanish documents; Bisc. barau, baru, fasting.]
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Incapable of producing offspring; producing no young; sterile; -- said of women and female animals.
She was barren of children.
--Bp. Hall. Not producing vegetation, or useful vegetation; sterile. ``Barren mountain tracts.''
--Macaulay.-
Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
Brilliant but barren reveries.
--Prescott.Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter.
--Swift. -
Mentally dull; stupid.
--Shak.Barren flower, a flower which has only stamens without a pistil, or which has neither stamens nor pistils.
Barren Grounds (Geog.), a vast tract in British America northward of the forest regions.
Barren Ground bear (Zo["o]l.), a peculiar bear, inhabiting the Barren Grounds, now believed to be a variety of the brown bear of Europe.
Barren Ground caribou (Zo["o]l.), a small reindeer ( Rangifer Gr[oe]nlandicus) peculiar to the Barren Grounds and Greenland.
Wikipedia
The Barren Grounds are a large area of tundra located in mainland Nunavut and stretching into the Northwest Territories in northern Canada. The Barren Grounds are nearly uninhabited, with the exception of a few coastal villages and towns in Nunavut and Baker Lake. The area's remoteness and wildlife bring in small amounts of tourists, mainly, for fishing, canoeing and wilderness camping.
Usage examples of "barren grounds".
There was nothing to do but wait for Ford's team to rest and get into condition before taking them upon the trying journey across the barren grounds that lay between us and the Atlantic.
He walked back across the barren grounds to the open entrance with Virga following.
On the barren grounds of the Tower of the Stars, Lord Konnal read from a newly inscribed parchment, detailing Dalamar's crime in a voice that echoed and re-echoed from the empty stone towers of the city.