Barrenest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by an absolute deficiency of plant life or agricultural potential
2. Indicative of a stark absence of growth or vitality in an environment devoid of nourishment
3. Having the utmost inability to support vegetation or produce crops or offspring

Etymology: "Barrenest" is the superlative of "barren," so its story is really the story of the base word. Barren comes from Middle English "bareyne," borrowed from Anglo-Norman "baraigne" or "baraing," meaning sterile or barren. The origin is obscure, but it is probably Germanic, perhaps from a Frankish form like "baʀ," which goes back to Proto-Germanic "bazaz," meaning bare. If that link holds, barren and the familiar English word bare are cognates, sharing a root that once described something stripped of covering. The superlative adds "-est" to the base, marking the most extreme degree of the quality. So "barrenest" describes the most desolate ground, the land where nothing grows at all.

Synonyms: most barren, most desolate

Antonyms: fertile, abundant