Etymologically
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fecundus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [feːˈkʊn.dʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [feˈkun.dus][1]

Forms

fēcundus (feminine fēcunda, neuter fēcundum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the stem of fētus with the suffix -cundus.[2][3] De Vaan counts seven Latin adjectives with this suffix (secundus, fācundus, iūcundus, rubicundus ...), and suggests the type started from a k-stem verb, so that fēcundus might go back to Proto-Italic *fēk-odno- and Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-k-.[3] The root is Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle”), as in fēmina and fēlīx.[3][1] Lewis & Short, citing Varro, call the spellings foecundus and faecundus mistakes.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.[3][5] Cicero says that nature produced nothing more fertile than the sow.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant productive of offspring, said of women and female animals, and then of anything productive or rich in something, such as land rich in cattle.[2] It was used of what multiplies fast, of a mind that is inventive (Cicero calls Pericles fēcundus), and of things that make others fertile, like the west wind in Catullus.[2]

In medieval Latin fēcunda could simply mean pregnant.[6] It entered English through French in the early 15th century as fecond, respelled English fecund after Latin in the 16th century.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero calls the sow the most fertile of animals and Pericles fēcundus.[2][5]
  • early 15th century – English fecond is recorded, later fecund.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (of women and animals) Fertile, productive of offspring.[2]
  2. Productive (of), rich (in).[2]
  3. Multiplying fast, prolific.[2]
  4. (of the mind) Inventive, fertile.[2]
  5. Life-giving, fertilizing.[2]
  6. (Medieval Latin) Pregnant.[6]

Word family

  • fēcunditās
  • fēcundō
  • īnfēcundus
  • perfēcundus
  • praefēcundus
  • fēcundē
  • fēcundātor
  • īnfēcunditās

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes fēcundus, the fruitfulness of living, breeding beings, from fertilis and ferāx, the fruitfulness of the soil.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper