[fer.tile] adj [ME, fr. MF & L; MF, fr. L fertilis, fr. ferre to carry, bear--more at bear] (15c) 1 a: producing or bearing fruit in great quantities: productive b: characterized by great resourcefulness of thought or imagination: inventive "a ~ mind" c obs: plentiful
2. a (1): capable of sustaining abundant plant growth "~ soil" (2): affording abundant possibilities for development "a ~ area for research" b: capable of growing or developing "~ egg" c (1): capable of producing fruit (2) of an anther: containing pollen (3): developing spores or spore-bearing organs d: capable of breeding or reproducing
3: capable of being converted into fissionable material "~ uranium 238" -- fer.tile.ly adv -- fer.tile.ness n syn fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit. fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth "fertile soil"; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development "a fertile imagination". fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring "a fecund herd". fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results "fruitful research". prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction "a prolific writer".