sterile

sterile
adjective Etymology: Middle English steryle, from Latin sterilis; akin to Gothic stairo barren animal, Sanskrit starī sterile cow Date: 15th century 1. a. failing to bear or incapable of producing fruit or spores b. failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring <
a sterile hybrid
>
c. incapable of germinating <
sterile spores
>
d. of a flower neither perfect nor pistillate 2. a. unproductive of vegetation <
a sterile arid region
>
b. free from living organisms and especially microorganisms <
a sterile syringe
>
c. lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality ; lifeless <
a sterile work of art
>
sterilely adverbsterility noun

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Synonyms:

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  • stérile — [ steril ] adj. • 1370; lat. sterilis I ♦ 1 ♦ Inapte à la génération, à la reproduction par défaut de production de spermatozoïdes (chez l homme) ou d ovules (chez la femme) ou par suite de circonstances s opposant à la fécondation. ⇒ infécond ;… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • sterile — sterile, barren, impotent, unfruitful, infertile mean not having or not manifesting the power to produce offspring or to bear literal or figurative fruit. Sterile, opposed to fertile, in its basic application to living things implies an inability …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • sterile — adj. de tout genre. Qui ne porte point de fruit, quoy qu il soit de nature à en porter. Champ sterile. terre sterile. arbre sterile. On dit, qu Une femme est sterile, pour dire, qu Elle n est point capable d avoir des enfans. On appelle, Année… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Sterile — Ster ile, a. [F. st[ e]rile, L. sterilis, akin to Gr. stereo s stiff, solid, stei^ros barren, stei^ra a cow that has not calved, Goth. stair[=o], fem., barren. See {Stare} to gaze.] 1. Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sterile — Stérile Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Stérile signifie soit sans vie, soit sans possibilité de la donner. Stérile Désinfecté: Médicalement, un milieu stérile est un milieu désinfecté,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • sterile — [ster′əl; ] Brit & Cdn, usually [, ster′īl΄] adj. [L sterilis < IE * ster , barren (> Gr steira, barren, OE stierc, calf), special use of base * ster , stiff, rigid > STARE] 1. incapable of producing others of its kind; barren 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • sterile — early 15c., barren (implied in sterility), from M.Fr. stérile not producing fruit, from L. sterilis barren, unproductive, from PIE *ster sterile, barren originally stiff, rigid (Cf. Gk. steresthai be deprived of, steira sterile, stereos firm, sol …   Etymology dictionary

  • sterile — Sterile, Sterilis, Infoecundus. Terre sterile, Terra ieiuna. Devenir sterile, Sterilescere …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • sterile — sterile. См. стерильный. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • sterile — index barren, ineffective, ineffectual, otiose, unproductive Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • sterile — / stɛrile/ agg. [dal lat. sterĭlis ]. 1. (biol.) [di individuo umano o animale, che non è in grado di generare o di concepire: un cavallo, una coppia s. ; diventare s., rendere s. ] ▶◀ infecondo. ◀▶ fecondo, fertile, prolifico. 2. (bot.) [di… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

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