What is the Latin word for fruitful?

The usual Latin words for “fruitful” are ferāx, fēcundus, fertilis; also opīmus, ūber, frūctuōsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“fruitful” in Latin

ferāxfruitful, fertile fēcundusfertile or fruitful; productive (of offspring) or prolific; abundant, prolific, plentiful fertilisfruitful, fertile; productive opīmusfat, rich, plump, corpulent; fertile, fruitful (land)ūbera teat, pap, dug, udder, a lactating breast; richness, fruitfulness frūctuōsusfruitful, productive; profitable, advantageous frūgiferfructiferous; fruitful, fertile frūctiferfructiferous (bearing fruit); fruitful pōmiferfruit-bearing

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

fruitful

ferax (Vid: the proper word, having a strong tendency to produce much and often): fecundus (εὔτοκος, full of productive energy and power; PROP., of living and breeding animals; then, also, by personification, of a district, province, etc., opposed to infecundus): fertilis (having the capability of bearing much; opposed to sterilis, of inanimate things): opimus (rich, with respect to corn and to productiveness generally). (The words are found in this connection and order.) opimus et fertilis: uber (rich in nutritive matter; productive). (The words are found in this connection and order.) uber et fertilis: fecundus et uber: fructuosus: frugifer: fructifer (fruitful; fructifer, of the earth or trees; frugifer, of the earth, seldom of trees [Tac., Germ., 5, 2; Suet., Galb., 4]; fructifer only of trees): pomifer (bearing fruit for eating, of trees). Fruitful in anything, ferax, fecundus, fertilis alicujus rei (the construction with the ablative belongs to the Silver Age and poetry). To make fruitful, feraciorem reddere; fecundare; laetificare [Vid: FERTILIZE]: to make the earth fruitful by anything, aliqua re terris dare fecunditatem.

FIG., a fruitful writer, multorum librorum scriptor or auctor: an age fruitful in every vice, *saeculum vitiorum ab omnibus partibus feracissimum: a fruitful year, annus fertilis (opposed to sterilis): this year was very fruitful, magnum proventum frugum fructumque hic annus attulit (after Plin., Ep., 1, 13, 1).

Fertile in ideas, ferax, fecundus, uber. (The words are found in this connection and order.) uber et fecundus (Cic.) [Vid: FERTILE]; in quo est magna inveniendi copia (Quint., with reference to oratorical invention).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for fruitful?: The usual Latin words for “fruitful” are ferāx, fēcundus, fertilis; also opīmus, ūber, frūctuōsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.