Where does “barren” come from?
barren (Cornish) comes from Cornish barr, from English Bar, from German bär, from Middle High German bër, from Old High German beri, from Proto-West Germanic baʀi, from Proto-Germanic bazją, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-.
barren (Cornish): sprig, twig
Definitions
- sprig, twig
Ancestry of “barren”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornish | barr | summit |
| 2 | English | Bar | A solid, more or less rigid object of metal or wood with a uniform cross-section smaller than its length |
| 3 | German | bär | — |
| 4 | Middle High German | bër | bear |
| 5 | Old High German | beri | A berry |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | baʀi | berry |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | bazją | berry |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂- | to shine, glow light; to speak, say |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-s-ri- | — |