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fe·cund

(fēkənd, fĕkənd)

adj.

a. Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful: The study compared demographic characteristics of infertile women with those who were fecund."The smell of mud, of mush, the primeval smell of fecund earth, seemed to sting our faces" (Joseph Conrad).

b. Characterized by or suggestive of fertility: The large aphids were more fecund than the smaller ones."Deep in the end of the back yard, the blossoming peach tree shone like a celestial sentinel. The fecund air lavished upon their faces the tenderness of a lover's adoring hands" (James Agee).

2. Characterized by intellectual productivity: a fecund mind. See Synonyms at fertile.

[Middle English, from Old French fecond, from Latin fēcundus; see dhē(i)- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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