sterile

Etymology

From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).

adj

1. (not comparable) Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
2. (figurative) Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.
3. (figurative) Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.
4. Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.
   a sterile kitchen table
5. Completely and totally (as in a planet) uninhabitable, devoid of especially even microbial life.
   Venus is a sterile planet
6. Free from dangerous objects, as a zone in an airport that can be only be entered via a security checkpoint.
7. (US, military) Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.
   An early CIA decision was to bring war surplus in Europe to the United States, rather than let it fall into the hands of left-wing movements. Some of the guns would also, it was reasoned, be useful as "sterile" weapons (foreign-made and untraceable to the United States) to be provided secretly to foreign friends. 1980, Russell Warren Howe, Weapons: The International Game of Arms, Money and Diplomacy
   In addition to this rapid supply system, the US Army Counterinsurgency Support Office on Okinawa helped procure special equipment including rucksacks, special rations for irregular troops, 'sterile' weapons which could not be traced to the USA and other items not procurable through foreign channels. 1990, Leroy Thompson, The US Army in Vietnam, page 111