English
fertilize
Fertilize comes from French fertiliser ‘to fertilize’, from Latin 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’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfertile
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentfertiliser‘to fertilize’
- Englishearliest quotation 2014fertilize
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
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’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfertile
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentfertiliser‘to fertilize’
- Englishearliest quotation 2014fertilize
Earliest quotation: 2014, Rupert Christiansen, The truth about falsettos [print version: 12 August 2014, p.: “He [countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo] also enjoys being the…”
Formed from fertile + -ize
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, bark, breeze, broom, barrow, embargo, fret, berth, ferret, insufferable, bahar, bier, furtive, birr, barrette, bairn, burnish, proffer, 116 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to bear, carry’
bear, borne, phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, indifferently, 94 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
suffering, differently, indifferent, differentiation, deference, differentially, differentiable, deferential, differentiator, 71 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, 80 more
through Latin fertilis ‘fruitful, fertile’
Today it means
verb To make (the soil) more fertile by adding nutrients to it.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / fertilize