Estéreis

Estéreis is the plural form of estéril, an adjective in Portuguese that denotes incapacity to reproduce or to yield. The term can describe living beings, plants, soils, or objects and processes that are free from microorganisms, depending on the context. In everyday language, estéril is used for soil or crops that do not bear, as well as for equipment or environments kept free of contaminants in medical or laboratory settings.

Etymology and form: estéril comes from Latin sterilis. In Portuguese, estéreis is the masculine or feminine plural, used with plural nouns such as solos estéreis, terras estéreis, materiais estéreis, or campos estéreis. The related noun is esterilidade, which refers to infertility or the state of being sterile, while fertility is expressed as fertilidade.

Usage and contexts: agricultural or ecological contexts often use estéril to describe infertile land or barren habitats, where soil or conditions hinder plant growth. In medical and laboratory contexts, estéril is commonly used to describe environments, equipment, and supplies that must be devoid of living microorganisms, such as luvas estéreis (sterile gloves) or campo estéril (sterile field). When referring to reproduction, esterilidade denotes infertility or the inability to conceive, whereas estéril describes the lack of reproductive capability in a given organism or population.

Related terms include fértil (fertile) as the opposite, and esterilidade as the noun for sterility. The word is neutral and widely used across science, agriculture, medicine, and everyday language.