FER'TILE, adjective [Latin fertilis, from fero, to bear.] 1. Fruitful; rich; producing fruit in abundance; as fertile land, ground, soil, fields or meadows. This word in America is rarely applied to trees, or to animals, but to land. It formerly had of before the thing producing; as fertile of all kinds of grain: but in is now used; fertile in grain. 2. Rich; having abundant resources; prolific; productive; inventive; able to produce abundantly; as a fertile genius, mind or imagination.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI