Webster's English Dictionary

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fertile

fer.tile \'f*rt-*l\ \-*l-(l)e-\ \-*l-n*s\ aj [ME, fr. MF & L; MF, fr. L 
   fertilis, fr. ferre to carry, bear - m]ore at BEAR 1a: producing or bearing 
   fruit in great quantities : PRODUCTIVE, (MINVENTIVE obs  1b: PLENTIFUL  
   2a1: capable of sustaining abundant plant growth {~ soil}  2a2: affording 
   abundant possibilities for development  2b: capable of growing or 
   developing {~ egg}  2c1: capable of producing fruit  of an anther  2c2: 
   containing pollen  2c3: developing spores or spore-bearing organs  2d: 
   capable of breeding or reproducing  3: capable of being converted into 
   fissionable material {~ uranium  238}the power to reproduce in kind or to 
   assist in reproduction and growth; applied to a brain, or to an idea, it 
   suggests readiness of invention and development; FECUND emphasizes 
   abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring; FRUITFUL adds to 
   FERTILE and FECUND the implication of desirable or useful results; PROLIFIC 
   stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural 
   reproduction - fer.tile.ly av SYN syn FECUND, FRUITFUL, PROLIFIC: FERTILE 
   implies