Unbarren

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. To make land or soil fertile and capable of producing crops or vegetation
2. To restore barren ground to a state where it can grow plants and sustain life
3. To render previously unproductive territory fertile and able to bear growth

Etymology: "Unbarren" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-" (meaning "not" or "the reverse of") attached to "barren." "Barren" comes from Old English "bærne," a word for a woman who could not have children, and it has long been applied to land that cannot support crops. Adding "un-" produces a word meaning "not barren," which describes ground or a person that has become fertile again. The pairing is productive in English: many adjectives take "un-" to mean the opposite of their base, and "unbarren" follows the same pattern, though it is a far less common word than its base.

Synonyms: fertile, fruitful, productive, fecund

Antonyms: barren, sterile