A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1549, 1633
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Steril, Stirril, adj. [e.m.E. steryll (1552), sterill (1572), stirrill (Shakespeare), MF sterile (14th c.), L. sterilis.] a. Of land: Unproductive, barren. b. Of water: ? Containing no life or ? unproductive or barren of fish; cf. a above. —a. 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 70/2.
The eird vas becum barran & stirril —b. 1633 (1711) Sibbald's Orkn. & Shetl. 68.
A large island called Meikle-Rooe, about fourteen miles in compass, in it are twentie four steril pools
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"Steril adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/steril>
