I.acc. sing. fem sterilam sterilem, Fest. p. 316 Müll.; neutr. plur. sterila, Lucr. 2, 845; abl. sterile, Apic. 7, 1, § 258), adj. Gr. στερεός, hard; στερίφη, στεῖρα, barren; Sanscr. starī, vacca sterilis, unfruitful, barren, sterile, of plants and animals (class. and very freq.; “syn infecundus): steriles nascuntur avenae,” Verg. E. 5, 37; so, “ulvae,” Ov. M. 4, 299: “herba,” id. Am. 3, 7, 31; Curt. 4, 1, 21: “platani,” Verg. G. 2, 70: “agri,” id. ib. 1, 84; id. A. 3, 141: “tellus,” Ov. M. 8, 789: “palus,” Hor. A. P. 65: “harena,” Verg. G. 1, 70: “humus,” Prop. 3, 2 (2, 11), 2; Curt. 7, 5, 34: “solum,” id. 3, 4, 3: “steriles nimium crasso sunt semine,” Lucr. 4, 1240; Cat. 67, 26: “galli Tanagric' ad partus sunt steriliores,” Varr. R. R. 3, 9, 6: “vacca,” Verg. A. 6, 251: “multae (mulie res),” Lucr. 4, 1251: “viri,” i. e. eunuchs, Cat. 63, 69; Plin. 24, 10, 47, § 78; Mart. 9, 9, 8: “ova,” Plin. 10, 60, 80, § 166.—
B. Transf. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose; not in Cic.).
1. Of things, causing unfruitfulness or sterility: “rubigo,” Hor. C. 3, 23, 6: “frigus,” Luc. 4, 108: “hiems,” Mart. 8, 68, 10: “serere pampinariis sterile est,” produces sterility, Plin. 17, 21, 35, § 157.—
2. In gen., barren, bare, empty: “manus,” Plaut. Truc. 1, 2, 3: “sterilis amator a datis,” bare of gifts, id. ib. 2, 1, 30: “amicus,” Juv. 12, 97; Mart. 10, 18, 3: “epistulae,” Plin. Ep. 5, 2, 2: “saeculum,” id. ib. 5, 17, 6: “civitas ad aquas,” App. M. 1, p. 106 fin.: “vadum,” Sen. Thyest. 173: “corpora sonitu (with jejuna succo),” that yield no sound, Lucr. 2, 845: “prospectus,” without human beings, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 15: “domus,” without children, Prop. 4 (5), 11, 62. “nummi,” that do not bear interest, Dig. 22, 1, 7.—With gen.: “sterilis laurus baccarum,” Plin. 15, 30, 39, § 130: “lapides plumbi,” id. 33, 7, 40, § 119.—
II. Trop., unproductive, unprofitable, fruitless, useless, vain: “Februarius,” Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 12, 2: “quod monumentum, quod immo temporis punctum, aut beneficio sterile, aut vacuum laude?” Plin. Pan. 56, 2: “ne sit sterile et effetum (saeculum),” id. Ep. 5, 17, 6: “fama (with cassa),” Stat. Th. 6, 70: “labor,” Mart. 10, 58, 8: “pax,” Tac. A. 1, 17: “amor,” i. e. unreturned, unrequited, Ov. M. 1, 496; Stat. S. 3, 4, 42: “cathedrae,” unprofitable, Mart. 1, 76, 14; Juv. 7, 203: “litus sterili versamus aratro,” id. 7, 49.—With gen., destitute, deprived of, unacquainted with: “urbes talium studiorum fuere steriles,” Vell. 1, 18 fin.: “non adeo virtutum sterile saeculum,” Tac. H. 1, 3: “heu steriles veri!” Pers. 5, 75.
