Meaning

noun the quality of yielding nothing of value

noun a deficiency of moisture (especially when resulting from a permanent absence of rainfall)

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs-eh₁yeti Proto-Italic *āzēō Latin āreō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin āridus Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0