half-sterile
ɪl adjective
1.
free from living germs or microorganisms; aseptic: sterile surgical instruments.
2.
incapable of producing offspring; not producing offspring.
3.
barren; not producing vegetation: sterile soil.
4.
Botany.
a.
noting a plant in which reproductive structures fail to develop.
b.
bearing no stamens or pistils.
5.
not productive of results, ideas, etc.; fruitless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To half-sterile
00:10
Half-sterile
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
sterile (ˈstɛraɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | unable to produce offspring; infertile |
| 2. | free from living, esp pathogenic, microorganisms; aseptic |
| 3. | (of plants or their parts) not producing or bearing seeds, fruit, spores, stamens, or pistils |
| 4. | lacking inspiration or vitality; fruitless |
| 5. | (US) economics (of gold) not being used to support credit creation or an increased money supply |
| [C16: from Latin sterilis] | |
| 'sterilely | |
| —adv | |
| sterility | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sterile
1426, "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, solid, stiff, hard;" Skt. starih "a barren
cow;" O.C.S. sterica "a barren cow;" Goth. stairo "barren;" O.N. stirtla "a barren cow"). See torpor. Originally in Eng. with ref. to soil; of females, from 1535. The sense of "sterilized" is first recorded 1877. Sterilize "destroy the fertility of" is from 1695 (in ref. to soil); of living things from 1828. Meaning "render free of microorganisms" is from 1878. Sterilization is from 1874.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
sterile ster·ile (stěr'əl, -īl')
adj.
Not producing or incapable of producing offspring.
Free from all live bacteria or other microorganisms and their spores.
ster'ile·ness or ste·ril'i·ty (stə-rĭl'ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
sterile  (stěr'əl, stěr'īl') Pronunciation Key
sterility noun (stə-rĭl'ĭ-tē) |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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