English
fecundate
Fecundate comes from Latin fēcundō ‘to make fruitful, fertilize’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēcundus‘fertile or fruitful’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēcundōas fecundātus‘to make fruitful, fertilize’
- Englishearliest quotation 1837fecundate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēcundus‘fertile or fruitful’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēcundōas fecundātus‘to make fruitful, fertilize’
- Englishearliest quotation 1837fecundate
Earliest quotation: 1837, Michael Ryan, The Philosophy of Marriage: “The pollen of plants is the fecundating power, and…”
Equivalent to fecund + -ate
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’
Latin fēcundus ‘fertile’
Middle French fécond
English fecund
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’
female, feminist, doe, feminism, tyre, fetus, felicity, dai, fawn, femme, femininity, filial, effeminate, fellatio, dahi, 30 more
Today it means
verb To make fertile.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- / fecundate