American Dictionary of the English Language

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.