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.
<! p. 554 !>
Fer"tile*ly (? or ?; 277), adv. In a fertile or fruitful manner.
fer"tile*ness, n. Fertility. Sir P. Sidney.
Fer*til"i*tate (?), v. t. To fertilize; to fecundate. Sir T. Browne.
Fer*til"i*ty (?), n. [L. fertilitas: cf. F. fertilitÈ.] The state or
quality of being fertile or fruitful; fruitfulness; productiveness;
fecundity; richness; abundance of resources; fertile invention;
quickness; readiness; as, the fertility of soil, or of imagination.
"fertility of resource." E. Everett.
And all her husbandry doth lie on heaps Corrupting in its own
fertility.
Shak.
Thy very weeds are beautiful; thy waste More rich than other
climes' fertility.
Byron.
Fer`ti*li*za"tion (?), n. 1. The act or process of rendering fertile.
2. (Biol.) The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable
germs; esp., the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the
ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants;
fecundation; impregnation.
Close fertilization (Bot.), the fertilization of pistils by pollen
derived from the stamens of the same blossom. -- Cross fertilization,
fertilization by pollen from some other blossom. See under Cross, a.
Fer"ti*lize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fertilized (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Fertilizing (?).] [Cf. F. fertiliser.] 1. To make fertile or enrich; to
supply with nourishment for plants; to make fruitful or productive; as,
to fertilize land, soil, ground, and meadows.
And fertilize the field that each pretends to gain.
Byron.