English
fertility
Fertility comes from Latin fertilitās ‘fruitfulness, fertility’, from ferō ‘to carry, bear’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘to carry, bear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfertilis‘fruitful, fertile’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfertilitās‘fruitfulness, fertility’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fertilité
- Englishearliest quotation 2018fertility
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘to carry, bear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfertilis‘fruitful, fertile’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfertilitās‘fruitfulness, fertility’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fertilité
- Englishearliest quotation 2018fertility
Earliest quotation: 2018, James Roland, What is Hypergonadism?: “Men may also have fertility challenges, especially if their…”
Formed from fertile + -ity
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
…
Latin ferō ‘to bear, carry’
Latin fertilis ‘fruitful, fertile’
Old French fertile
Middle French fertile
English fertile
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, bread, burden, bearing, prefer, barrel, fortune, barn, bore, fury, baron, breeze, bark, broom, barrow, embargo, fret, berth, ferret, insufferable, bahar, bier, furtive, birr, barrette, bairn, burnish, proffer, 117 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to bear, carry’
bear, borne, phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, indifferently, 95 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
suffering, differently, indifferent, differentiation, deference, differentially, differentiable, deferential, differentiator, 72 more
through Latin ferō ‘to carry, bear’
different, difference, offer, reference, transfer, extraordinary, relative, translation, relate, relation, suffer, translate, frustration, referendum, strangely, differ, referee, extravagant, frustrate, elated, infra, confer, defer, extraneous, infer, strangeness, ablation, elation, collation, collate, dilate, oblate, estrange, ablative, efferent, 81 more
through Latin fertilis ‘fruitful, fertile’
Today it means
noun The condition, or the degree, of being fertile.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / fertility