Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Fertile \Fer"tile\ (? or ?; 277), a. [L. fertilis, fr. ferr? to
   bear, produce: cf. F. fertile. See {Bear} to support.]
   1. Producing fruit or vegetation in abundance; fruitful; able
      to produce abundantly; prolific; fecund; productive; rich;
      inventive; as, fertile land or fields; a fertile mind or
      imagination.

            Though he in a fertile climate dwell. --Shak.

   2. (Bot.)
      (a) Capable of producing fruit; fruit-bearing; as, fertile
          flowers.
      (b) Containing pollen; -- said of anthers.

   3. produced in abundance; plenteous; ample.

            Henceforth, my early care . . . Shall tend thee, and
            the fertile burden ease Of thy full branches.
                                                  --Milton.

   Syn: {Fertile}, {Fruitful}.

   Usage: Fertile implies the inherent power of production;
          fruitful, the act. The prairies of the West are
          fertile by nature, and are turned by cultivation into
          fruitful fields. The same distinction prevails when
          these words are used figuratively. A man of fertile
          genius has by nature great readiness of invention; one
          whose mind is fruitful has resources of thought and a
          readiness of application which enable him to think and
          act effectively.

Source : WordNet®

fertile
     adj 1: capable of reproducing [ant: {sterile}]
     2: intellectually productive; "a prolific writer"; "a fecund
        imagination" [syn: {fecund}, {prolific}]
     3: bearing in abundance especially offspring; "flying foxes are
        extremely prolific"; "a prolific pear tree" [syn: {prolific}]
     4: marked by great fruitfulness; "fertile farmland"; "a fat
        land"; "a productive vineyard"; "rich soil" [syn: {fat}, {productive},
         {rich}]