fertile Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective capable of reproducing
  2. adjective satellite intellectually productive
    fecund; prolific.
    • a prolific writer
    • a fecund imagination
  3. adjective satellite bearing in abundance especially offspring
    prolific.
    • flying foxes are extremely prolific
    • a prolific pear tree
  4. adjective satellite marked by great fruitfulness
    productive; rich; fat.
    • fertile farmland
    • a fat land
    • a productive vineyard
    • rich soil

WordNet

Fer"tile adjective
Etymology
L. fertilis, fr. ferr to bear, produce: cf. F. fertile. See Bear to support.
Definitions
  1. Producing fruit or vegetation in abundance; fruitful; able to produce abundantly; prolific; fecund; productive; rich; inventive; as, fertile land or fields; a fertile mind or imagination.
    Though he in a fertile climate dwell. Shak.
  2. (Bot.) (a) Capable of producing fruit; fruit-bearing; as, fertile flowers. (b) Containing pollen; -- said of anthers.
  3. produced in abundance; plenteous; ample.
    Henceforth, my early care . . . Shall tend thee, and the fertile burden ease Of thy full branches. Milton.
    Syn. -- Fertile, Fruitful. Fertile implies the inherent power of production; fruitful, the act. The prairies of the West are fertile by nature, and are turned by cultivation into fruitful fields. The same distinction prevails when these words are used figuratively. A man of fertile genius has by nature great readiness of invention; one whose mind is fruitful has resources of thought and a readiness of application which enable him to think and act effectively.

Webster 1913