Etymology

fertile

F4E1R1T1I1L1E1

Today it means: Of land, etc.: capable of growing abundant crops; productive. Full definition →

Middle French fertile ← Old French fertile ← Latin fertilis
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromfertilis“fruitful, fertile”
  2. Old French · derived fromfertile
  3. Middle French · derived fromfertile
  4. English todayfertile

From Middle English, from Middle French fertile, from Old French fertile, from Latin fertilis (“fruitful, fertile”), from ferō (“to bear, carry”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.