English → Latin
“prolific” in Latin
fertilisfruitful, fertile; productivefēcundusfertile or fruitful; productive (of offspring) or prolific; abundant, prolific, plentifulūbera teat, pap, dug, udder, a lactating breast; richness, fruitfulnessferāxfruitful, fertilefrūctuōsusfruitful, productive; profitable, advantageousfrūgiferfructiferous; fruitful, fertilefētusa bearing, birth, bringing forth; offspring, young, progeny; fruit, product; bearing, produceedōto eatcōpiōsuscopious, plentiful, abundant; prolific; eloquent
The English word prolific itself goes back to Latin prōlēs, through prōlificus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
prolific
PROP., (of land, etc.) fertilis; fecundus; uber; ferax (usually with a genitive, rarely with ablative; Cic. uses it almost always figuratively): fructuosus; frugifer: (of animals) fecundus; multos partus, fetus, edens.
Figuratively, ferax; copiosus; fecundus; uber. SYN. and PHR. in FERTILE, FRUITFUL].
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for prolific?
- The usual Latin words for “prolific” are fertilis, fēcundus, ūber; also ferāx, frūctuōsus, frūgifer. 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.