(1):
(v. t.) To deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of germination or fecundation; to make sterile.
(2):
(v. t.) To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility.
(3):
(v. t.) To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture), as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other organisms.