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fructifico

Etymology and origin of the Latin word fructifico

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Calpurnius Siculus
Ultimate origin
Latin (frūctus,faciō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [fruːkˈtɪ.fɪ.koː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [frukˈtiː.fi.ko][1]

Forms

frūctificō (present infinitive frūctificāre, perfect active frūctificāvī, supine frūctificātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from frūctus “fruit” and -ficō from faciō “to make”.[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨frūctus⟩, the noun of fruor “to enjoy”, to Proto-Italic ⟨*frūg-je/o-⟩, Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg-ye/o- (“to use”), cognate with Oscan ⟨fruktatiuf⟩ “usufruct” and Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (brukjan, “to use”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Calpurnius Siculus, laurus fructificat “the laurel bears fruit”.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Post-classical, it meant of plants or land to bear fruit, produce new growth, as in Calpurnius and Tertullian, and transitively in Tertullian to procreate.[2][3][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to be fruitful.[6] English fructify (mid-14th century) is from it through Old French.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it.[3][8]
  • mid-14th century – English fructify is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bear fruit, sprout.[2][3]
  2. To procreate.[5]

Word family

  • frūctificātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Fructifico.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/fructifico. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·