sterile

See also: stérile

Contents

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).

PronunciationEdit

• enPR: stĕrʹəl, stĕrʹīl"
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛɹəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛɹaɪl/
• Rhymes: -ɛɹəl, -ɛɹaɪl

AdjectiveEdit

sterile (comparative more sterile, superlative most sterile)

1. (not comparable) Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
   • 1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. Or, The Quincunciall, Lozenge, or Net-work Plantations of the Ancients, Artificially, Naturally, Mystically Considered. Chapter V.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, or, A Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urnes Lately Found in Norfolk. Together with The Garden of Cyrus, or The Quincunciall, Lozenge, or Net-work Plantations of the Ancients, Artificially, Naturally, Mystically Considered. With Sundry Observations, London: Printed for Hen[ry] Brome at the Signe of the Gun in Ivy-lane, OCLC 48702491; reprinted as Hydriotaphia (The English Replicas), New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd., 1927, OCLC 78413388, page 192:

     According to that Cabaliſticall Dogma: If Abram had not had this Letter [i.e., ה‎ (he)] added unto his Name he had remained fruitleſſe, and without the power of generation: […] So that being ſterill before, he received the power of generation from that meaſure and manſion in the Archetype; and was made conformable unto Binah.

2. (figuratively) Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.
3. (figuratively) Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.
4. Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.

   a sterile kitchen table

5. free from dangerous objects, as a zone in an airport that can be only be entered via a security checkpoint

SynonymsEdit

• (unable to procreate): barren, infertile

Related termsEdit

• sterilisation / sterilization
• sterilise / sterilize
• sterilised / sterilized
• sterility

TranslationsEdit

unable to reproduce

• Arabic: عقيم‎‎ m, عقيمة‎‎ f

  Gulf Arabic: عقيم‎‎ (ʕɐqiːm), عقيمة‎‎ f (ʕɐqiːmɐ)

• Armenian: ամուլ (hy) (amul), չբեր (hy) (čʿber), ստերջ (hy) (sterǰ)
• Catalan: estèril (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不孕的 (zh) (bùyùn-de), 貧瘠的 (zh), 贫瘠的 (zh) (pínjí-de), 无菌的 (zh) (wújūn-de), 不生育的 (bù shēngyù-de)

• Czech: neplodný m
• Dutch: onvruchtbaar (nl), steriel (nl)
• Esperanto: malfekunda
• Finnish: steriili (fi)
• French: stérile (fr)
• German: unfruchtbar (de)

• Greek: στείρος (el) (steíros)
• Interlingua: sterile
• Italian: sterile (it), infertile (it)
• Japanese: 不毛 (ja) (ふもう, fumō), 不妊 (ふにん, funin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: steril

  Nynorsk: steril

• Persian: سترون‎‎ (fa) (setarvan)
• Polish: bezpłodny (pl) m
• Portuguese: estéril (pt)
• Russian: беспло́дный (ru) (besplódnyj)
• Spanish: estéril (es)
• Swedish: steril (sv), ofruktbar
• Tagalog: lumaon
• Vietnamese: vô sinh (vi)

germless

• Armenian: ստերիլ (steril), մանրէազերծ (hy) (manrēazerc)
• Catalan: estèril (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無菌的 (zh)

• Czech: sterilní (cs)
• Danish: steril (da)
• French: stérile (fr)
• German: steril (de)
• Greenlandic: bakteriaqanngitsoq
• Interlingua: sterile
• Italian: sterile (it)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: steril

  Nynorsk: steril

• Persian: استریل‎‎ (fa) (esteril), سترون‎‎ (fa) (setarvan)
• Polish: sterylny (pl)
• Portuguese: estéril (pt)
• Russian: стери́льный (ru) (sterílʹnyj)
• Spanish: estéril (es)
• Swedish: steril (sv)
• Tagalog: esteril
• Vietnamese: vô trùng (vi)

AnagramsEdit

• Leister, leister, reliest, retiles

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GermanEdit

AdjectiveEdit

sterile

1. inflected form of steril

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ItalianEdit

AdjectiveEdit

sterile (masculine and feminine plural sterili)

1. sterile, barren, unprolific, infertile
2. sterile, sterilized (medicine)
3. vain, pointless
4. unproductive

Related termsEdit

• sterilità
• sterilizzato
• sterilizzazione
• sterilizzare
• sterilire

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LatinEdit

AdjectiveEdit

sterile

1. nominative neuter singular of sterilis
2. accusative neuter singular of sterilis
3. vocative neuter singular of sterilis

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Norwegian BokmålEdit

AdjectiveEdit

sterile

1. definite singular and plural of steril

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Norwegian NynorskEdit

AdjectiveEdit

sterile

1. definite singular and plural of steril