STERIL, STERILE adjective [Latin] 1. Barren; unfruitful; not fertile; producing little or no crop; as STERILE land; a STERILE desert; a STERILE year. 2. Barren; producing no young. 3. Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment, as a STERILE production or author. Sterile flower, in botany, is a term given by Tournefort to the male flower, or that which bears only stamens.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI