WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Fer"tile ( or ; 277)
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [L. fertilis, fr. ferr to bear, produce: cf. F. fertile. See Bear to support.]
Definition : 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.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913