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Synonyms for sterility


Grammar : Noun
Spell : ster-il or, esp. British, -ahyl
Phonetic Transcription : ˈstɛr ɪl or, esp. British, -aɪl



Définition of sterility

Origin :
  • early 15c., "barren" (implied in sterility), from Middle French stérile "not producing fruit," from Latin sterilis "barren, unproductive," from PIE *ster- "sterile, barren" originally "stiff, rigid" (cf. Greek steresthai "be deprived of," steira "sterile," stereos "firm, solid, stiff, hard;" Sanskrit starih "a barren cow;" Old Church Slavonic sterica "a barren cow;" Gothic stairo "barren;" Old Norse stirtla "a barren cow"). See torpor. Originally in English with reference to soil; of females, from 1530s. The sense of "sterilized" is first recorded 1877.
  • noun infertility
Example sentences :
  • It matters not one whit whether this sterility is universal, or whether it exists only in a single case.
  • Extract from : « A Critical Examination Of The Position Of Mr. Darwin's Work, "On The Origin Of Species," In Relation To The Complete Theory Of The Causes Of The Phenomena Of Organic Nature » by Thomas H. Huxley
  • And is there, think you, no way of serving God but in the sterility of the cloister?
  • Extract from : « The Strolling Saint » by Raphael Sabatini
  • She went to him and asked him if he could cure her sterility.
  • Extract from : « The Goat-gland Transplantation » by Sydney B. Flower
  • Laws governing the Sterility of first Crosses and of Hybrids.
  • Extract from : « On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection » by Charles Darwin
  • Here discuss what is a species, sterility can most rarely be told when crossed.
  • Extract from : « The Foundations of the Origin of Species » by Charles Darwin
  • He who will explain these latter cases will be able to explain the sterility of hybrids.
  • Extract from : « On the Origin of Species » by Charles Darwin
  • They vanished, less on account of man's cruelty than by reason of their own sterility.
  • Extract from : « The Master-Knot of Human Fate » by Ellis Meredith
  • The latter complication is a most common cause of sterility in men.
  • Extract from : « The Home Medical Library, Volume II (of VI) » by Various
  • This, I believe, is one reason for the sterility of America in Art.
  • Extract from : « Appearances » by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
  • I am sorry you should have given yourself the trouble to answer my ideas on sterility.
  • Extract from : « More Letters of Charles Darwin » by Charles Darwin

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