Fertile \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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)