English
fructify
Fructify comes from Old French fructefier ‘to fructify’, from Latin fructificō ‘to bear fruit’, and ultimately from frūctus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrūctus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfructificō‘to bear fruit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fructefier‘to fructify’
- Englishearliest quotation 1634fructify
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrūctus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfructificō‘to bear fruit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fructefier‘to fructify’
- Englishearliest quotation 1634fructify
Earliest quotation: 1634, Thomas Herbert, Mohelia, Its Description: “Atop the [Palmito] tree is a pith, in taſte…”
Linked words
through Latin frūctus
Today it means
verb To bear fruit; to generate useful products or ideas.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin frūctus / fructify