Where does “sterile” come from?

Sterile comes from Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis, from Proto-Indo-European ster-, meaning barren or unable to produce offspring.

sterile (English): Unable to reproduce; Terse; lacking sentiment or...

Definitions

  1. Unable to reproduce; Terse; lacking sentiment or...

Ancestry of “sterile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchstérile—
2Latinsterilisbarren, sterile; unprofitable, futile
3Proto-Indo-Europeanster-sterile, infertile

Words derived from “sterile”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ster- →Every word from Latin sterilis →Every word from Middle French stérile →