sterility means the state or quality of being sterile. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 71 out of 100.
Why “sterility” is a great word
The complete absence of life or generative capacity. Its etymology traces from Middle English sterylite, sterylyte, from Latin sterilitās, from sterilis (“barren, unfruitful”) + -itās (“-ity, state of”), first recorded in English in the early 15th century. Unlike “infertility,” which suggests a diminished potential, or “asepsis,” which denotes a clinical cleanliness, sterility is an absolute and irrevocable state. It is the silence of a fallow field under a white sun, the polished geometry of a surgical theater, and the hollow perfection of a plastic bloom—a quiet triumph of order over the vital, messy urge to create.
Etymology
From Middle English sterylite, sterylyte, from Latin sterilitās. By surface analysis, sterile + -ity.
noun
- The state or quality of being sterile.