Etymograph

English

barren

Barren comes from Middle English bareyne ‘infertile, sterile’, from Frankish *baʀ ‘bare’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰosós.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰosós1‘bare, naked’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bazaz2‘bare’uncertain
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*baʀ2‘bare’uncertain
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400baraigne2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bareyne2‘infertile, sterile’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1599barren2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bazaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English barren
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, To touch Calpurnia;…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰosósWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bazaz‘bare, naked’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bazazWiktionary, English barren‘bare’uncertain
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*baʀWiktionary, English barren‘bare’uncertain
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400baraigneWiktionary, English barren
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bareyneWiktionary, English barren‘infertile, sterile’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1599barrenWiktionary, English barren. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, To touch Calpurnia;…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *bazaz ‘bare’

barely, bare

Today it means

adj Not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “barren”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *bazaz. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰosós / barren

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