different between fertile vs fecundity

English

Etymology

Middle English, from French and Old French fertile, from Latin fertilis (“fruitful, fertile”), from fer? (“I bear, carry”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f??ta?l/, /?f??t?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?f??t?l/, /?f??ta?l/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /?f??ta?l/

Adjective

fertile (comparative more fertile, superlative most fertile)

1. (of land etc) capable of growing abundant crops; productive
2. (biology) capable of reproducing; fecund, fruitful

3. (biology) capable of developing past the egg stage
4. (physics) Not itself fissile, but able to be converted into a fissile material by irradiation in a reactor.

   There are two basic fertile materials: uranium-238 and thorium-232.

5. (of an imagination etc) productive or prolific

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:productive
• fecund

Antonyms

• barren
• infertile

Related terms

• fertilisation, fertilization
• fertilise, fertilize
• fertiliser, fertilizer
• fertility, fertileness
• subfertile

Translations

Further reading

• fertile in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• fertile in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• fertile at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• firelet

French

Etymology

From Latin fertilem

Adjective

fertile (plural fertiles)

1. fertile

Further reading

• “fertile” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• flétrie
• flirtée

Italian

Etymology

From Latin fertilis, fertilem

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?r.ti.le/

Adjective

fertile (plural fertili)

1. fertile

   Antonym: infertile

Derived terms

• fertilizzare
• fertilmente

Related terms

• fertilità

See also

• fecondo

Further reading

• fertile in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Adjective

fertile

1. nominative neuter singular of fertilis
2. accusative neuter singular of fertilis
3. vocative neuter singular of fertilis

English

Alternative forms

• fœcundity (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin f?cundit?s (“fruitfulness, fertility”), from f?cundus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /f??k?nd?t?/
• Hyphenation: fe?cun?di?ty

Noun

fecundity (usually uncountable, plural fecundities)

1. Ability to produce offspring.
   • 2006, Neil Gaiman, “Neil Gaiman on Terry Pratchett” in: Good Omens, Corgi, p. 410

     In the early days the reviewers compared him to the late Douglas Adams, but then Terry went on to write books as enthusiastically as Douglas avoided writing them, and now, if there is any comparison to be made of anything from the formal rules of a Pratchett novel to the sheer prolific fecundity of the man, it might be to P. G. Wodehouse.

2. Ability to cause growth.
3. Number, rate, or capacity of offspring production.
4. Rate of production of young by a female.

Synonyms

• (ability to produce offspring): fertileness, fertility

Related terms

• fecund
• fecundation

Translations

Further reading

• fecundity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• fecundity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• fecundity in the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, English section, second edition, International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Liège, 1982
• fecundity at OneLook Dictionary Search