Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FECUNDITY

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"FECUNDITY" Meaning: Literally, when you say that lands or animals have fecundity, you mean they're fertile: the lands produce a lot of crops, or the animals give birth to a lot of baby animals. Figuratively, fecundity is the power or quality of producing a lot of things. In other words, fecundity is abundant productiveness. Pronunciation: fick UND it ee Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like “milk,” “rice,” and “education,” uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about “some milk,” “the rice,” and “a lot of education,” but you don’t say “a milk,” “three rices,” or “many educations.” Likewise, talk about “the fecundity,” “such fecundity,” “a lot of fecundity,” “no fecundity,” and so on, but don’t say “fecundities.”) Other forms: The adjective is "fecund." It rhymes with "second." How to use it: This is a beautiful, positive word that makes you think of health, prosperity, and abundance. Often you'll talk about "the fecundity of something," like the fecundity of an author or artist (meaning they write or create a lot of stuff,) or the fecundity of someone's mind or imagination or intellect (meaning they think up all kinds of great stuff). You can also talk about something's fecundity: "the fecundity of a free and open schedule," "art's fecundity," "childhood's fecundity." And you can talk about something that happens with fecundity: "He blogs with fecundity." Lastly, talk about fecundity in general, or a certain kind of fecundity: "they have to balance fecundity and quality," "the conference is a celebration of academic fecundity." Although the stroke cost him the use of one hand, his art suffered no loss of fecundity. Once she realized she was allowed to write stories and not just essays, it became clear that my student's mind held endless fecundity, and she filled up one notebook after another. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "fecundity" means when you can explain it without saying "fertility" or "abundance." Think of a writer or artist you like who has created a ton of stuff, and fill in the blanks: "(Person's) fecundity is (startling/impressive/undeniable, etc.): he's/she's (written/created/produced, etc.) _____." Example: "Elton John's fecundity is startling: he's come out with over 30 full albums, not even including sound tracks or hit compilations." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words: This month, we're playing with song lyrics that include words featured in issues of Make Your Point. I’ll give you a few lines from the song, with a blank where our word appears, along with its definition. See if you can come up with it! You can follow the link to see the right answer right away, or just wait until the following day’s issue. Have fun! Yesterday's lyrics: Artist: Earth, Wind, & Fire Title: Sparkle Lyrics:    Lover forever unfolds magical moments together     And the fire to _____ melodies tonight  Definition: to bring something into brilliant, passionate existence Answer: ignite Try this one today: Artist: Elton John and Leon Russell Title: Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody) Lyrics:   Well you're tougher than leather    No old burlap sack    Not some _____ weed    Growing up through the cracks Definition: requiring a difficult, constant, desperate struggle Peek at the answer... A Point Well Made: Ben Jonson: “That old bald cheater, Time.” 1. The opposite of FECUNDITY is A. FRUITLESSNESS B. EMPTINESS C. VASTNESS 2. The company once praised for its fecundity is now _____. A. coming under fire for reckless environmental practices B. swallowing up other firms left and right, indiscriminately C. on its third straight year of debuting nothing Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. C Exploring the archives: Today's "fecundity" is a close synonym of "verdancy," which we looked at just a few days ago. So what's the difference between something verdant and something fecund? Almost nothing! But "verdant" is the word you reach for when you need to emphasize the natural greenness of abundance (even if you're being figurative,) and "fecund" is the one you want for emphasizing the productiveness of abundance (and is more likely to be used figuratively than "verdant.") We don't often cover words that are such close synonyms. But we did look at genuflect and kowtow. Could you recall how they're a teeny bit different from each other?