Infertile
/ɪnˈfɜːrtaɪl/noun
Unable to produce offspring or fruit; not fertile.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin roots tied to agriculture and fruitfulness, where fertility was not abstract—it was the difference between abundance and famine, life and emptiness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰer-
“to bear, carry, produce”
Latin
Latin
fertilis
“fruitful, productive”
Latin
Latin
in- + fertilis
“not fruitful, unproductive”
Old French
Old French
infertile
“barren, unfruitful”
Late Middle English
English
infertile
“barren; unable to bear fruit or offspring”
Modern English
English
infertile
“unable to produce offspring or fruit”