'Barren flower' definitions:

Definition of 'Barren flower'

From: GCIDE
  • 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.]
  • 1. Incapable of producing offspring; producing no young; sterile; -- said of women and female animals. [1913 Webster]
  • She was barren of children. --Bp. Hall. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Not producing vegetation, or useful vegetation; sterile. "Barren mountain tracts." --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty. [1913 Webster]
  • Brilliant but barren reveries. --Prescott. [1913 Webster]
  • Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Mentally dull; stupid. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 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 (Zool.), a peculiar bear, inhabiting the Barren Grounds, now believed to be a variety of the brown bear of Europe.
  • Barren Ground caribou (Zool.), a small reindeer ({Rangifer Gr[oe]nlandicus}) peculiar to the Barren Grounds and Greenland. [1913 Webster]