Sterile
Pronunciation : Ster"ile
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [F. st?rile, L. sterilis, akin to Gr. stereo`s stiff, solid, stei^ros barren, stei^ra a cow that has not calved, Goth. stairo, fem., barren. See Stare to gaze.]
Definition : 1. Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful; unproductive; not fertile; as, sterile land; a sterile desert; a sterile year.
2. (Biol.) (a) Incapable of reproduction; unfitted for reproduction of offspring; not able to germinate or bear fruit; unfruitful; as, a sterile flower, which bears only stamens. (b) Free from reproductive spores or germs; as, a sterile fluid.
3. Fig.: Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment; as, a sterile production or author.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913