Fertile

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Fertile

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

FER-tyle  /ˈfəːtʌɪl/

Definition

Producing or capable of producing abundant vegetation, crops, or offspring; able to conceive young or produce seeds. Also: inventive and productive of new ideas.

Plain meaning

Rich and productive — of soil that grows crops abundantly, of a creature that reproduces successfully, or of a mind that generates ideas.

Register

Neutral. Scientific in reproductive medicine, agricultural in soil science, and metaphorical in intellectual contexts. The figurative sense is particularly valued in literary and critical writing.