bearing, producing, or capable of producing vegetation, crops, etc., abundantly; prolific: fertile soil.
2.
bearing or capable of bearing offspring.
3.
abundantly productive: a fertile imagination.
4.
producing an abundance (usually fol. by of or in): a land fertile of wheat.
5.
conducive to productiveness: fertile showers.
6.
Biology.
a.
fertilized, as an egg or ovum; fecundated.
b.
capable of growth or development, as seeds or eggs.
7.
Botany.
a.
capable of producing sexual reproductive structures.
b.
capable of causing fertilization, as an anther with fully developed pollen.
c.
having spore-bearing organs, as a frond.
8.
Physics. (of a nuclide) capable of being transmuted into a fissile nuclide by irradiation with neutrons: Uranium 238 and thorium 232 are fertile nuclides. Compare fissile(def. 2).
9.
produced in abundance.
[Origin: 1425–75; late ME (< MF) < L fertilis fruitful, akin to ferre to bear1; see -ile]
Capable of initiating, sustaining, or supporting reproduction.
Capable of growing and developing; able to mature: a fertile egg.
Botany Bearing functional reproductive structures such as seeds or fruit or material such as spores or pollen.
Bearing or producing crops or vegetation abundantly; fruitful.
Rich in material needed to sustain plant growth: fertile soil.
Highly or continuously productive; prolific: a fertile imagination; a fertile source of new ideas.
Physics Capable of producing fissionable material: fertile thorium 232.
[Middle English fertil, from Old French fertile, from Latin fertilis, from ferre, to bear; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.]
fer'tile·ly adv., fer'tile·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean marked by great productivity: fertile farmland; a fecund imagination; fruitful efforts; a productive meeting; a prolific writer.
1436, from L. fertilis "bearing in abundance, fruitful, productive," from ferre "to bear" (see infer). Fertilize is 1648; its biological sense of "unite with an egg cell" is first recorded 1859. Fertile Crescent (1914) was coined by U.S. archaeologist James H. Breasted (1865-1935). Fertilizer as a euphemism for "manure" is from 1846.
Main Entry: fer·tile Pronunciation: 'f&rt-&l, chiefly Brit 'f&r-"tIl Function: adjective 1: capable of growing
or developing <fertile egg> 2: developing spores or spore-bearing organs 3 a: capable of breeding or reproducing bof an estrous
cycle: marked by the production of one or more viable eggs
Fertile, IA (city, FIPS 27390) Location: 43.26487 N, 93.42258 W Population (1990): 382 (161 housing units) Area: 2.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 50434
Fertile, MN (city, FIPS 20978) Location: 47.53207 N, 96.29134 W Population (1990): 853 (421 housing units) Area: 4.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 56540
Bear\ (b[^a]r), v. t. [imp. Bore (b[=o]r) (formerly Bare (b[^a]r)); p. p. Born (b[^o]rn), Borne (b[=o]r); p. pr. & vb. n. Bearing.] [OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. geb["a]ren, Goth. ba['i]ran to bear or carry, Icel. bera, Sw. b["a]ra, Dan. b[ae]re, OHG. beran, peran, L. ferre to bear, carry, produce, Gr. fe`rein, OSlav brati to take, carry, OIr. berim I bear, Skr. bh[.r] to bear. [root]92. Cf. Fertile.]1. To support or sustain; to hold up. 2. To support and remove or carry; to convey. I 'll bear your logs the while. --Shak. 3. To conduct; to bring; -- said of persons. [Obs.] Bear them to my house. --Shak. 4. To possess and use, as power; to exercise. Every man should bear rule in his own house. --Esther i. 22. 5. To sustain; to have on (written or inscribed, or as a mark), as, the tablet bears this inscription. 6. To possess or carry, as a mark of authority or distinction; to wear; as, to bear a sword, badge, or name. 7. To possess mentally; to carry or hold in the mind; to entertain; to harbor --Dryden. The ancient grudge I bear him. --Shak. 8. To endure; to tolerate; to undergo; to suffer. Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne. --Pope. I cannot bear The murmur of this lake to hear. --Shelley. My punishment is greater than I can bear. --Gen. iv. 13. 9. To gain or win. [Obs.] Some think to bear it by speaking a great word. --Bacon. She was . . . found not guilty, through bearing of friends and bribing of the judge. --Latimer. 10. To sustain, or be answerable for, as blame, expense, responsibility, etc. He shall bear their iniquities. --Is. liii. 11. Somewhat that will bear your charges. --Dryden. 11. To render or give; to bring forward. "Your testimony bear" --Dryden. 12. To carry on, or maintain; to have. "The credit of bearing a part in the conversation." --Locke. 13. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change. In all criminal cases the most favorable interpretation should be put on words that they can possibly bear. --Swift. 14. To manage, wield, or direct. "Thus must thou thy body bear." --Shak. Hence: To behave; to conduct. Hath he borne himself penitently in prison ? --Shak. 15. To afford; to be to; to supply with. His faithful dog shall bear him company. --Pope. 16. To bring forth or produce; to yield; as, to bear apples; to bear children; to bear interest. Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. --Dryden. Note: In the passive form of this verb, the best modern usage restricts the past participle born to the sense of brought forth, while borne is used in the other senses of the word. In the active form, borne alone is used as the past participle. To bear down. (a) To force into a lower place; to carry down; to depress or sink. "His nose, . . . large as were the others, bore them down into insignificance." --Marryat. (b) To overthrow or crush by force; as, to bear down an enemy. To bear a hand. (a) To help; to give assistance. (b) (Naut.) To make haste; to be quick. To bear in hand, to keep (one) up in expectation, usually by promises never to be realized; to amuse by false pretenses; to delude. [Obs.] "How you were borne in hand, how crossed." --Shak. To bear in mind, to remember. To bear off. (a) To restrain; to keep from approach. (b) (Naut.) To remove to a distance; to keep clear from rubbing against anything; as, to bear off a blow; to bear off a boat. (c) To gain; to carry off, as a prize. To bear one hard, to owe one a grudge. [Obs.] "C[ae]sar doth bear me hard." --Shak. To bear out. (a) To maintain and support to the end; to defend to the last. "Company only can bear a man out in an ill thing." --South. (b) To corroborate; to confirm. To bear up, to support; to keep from falling or sinking. "Religious hope bears up the mind under sufferings." --Addison. Syn: To uphold; sustain; maintain; support; undergo; suffer; endure; tolerate; carry; convey; transport; waft.
Fer"tile\ (? or ?; 277), a. [L. fertilis, fr. ferr? to bear, produce: cf. F. fertile. See Bear to support.]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. Usage: 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.
Fer"tile\ (? or ?; 277), a. [L. fertilis, fr. ferr? to bear, produce: cf. F. fertile. See Bear to support.]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. Usage: 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.
Fruit"ful\, a. Full of fruit; producing fruit abundantly; bearing results; prolific; fertile; liberal; bountiful; as, a fruitful tree, or season, or soil; a fruitful wife. -- Fruit"ful*ly, adv. -- Fruit"ful*ness, n. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. --Gen. i. 28. [Nature] By disburdening grows More fruitful. --Milton. The great fruitfulness of the poet's fancy. --Addison. Syn: Fertile; prolific; productive; fecund; plentiful; rich; abundant; plenteous. See Fertile.
Fur"tive\, a. [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.] Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. --Prior. A hasty and furtive ceremony. --Hallam.
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