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==Etymology==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from [[Latin]] fertilis, from ferre to carry, bear
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Century 15th century]
==Definitions==
*1 a : producing or bearing fruit in great [[quantities]] : productive
:b : characterized by great resourcefulness of [[thought]] or [[imagination]] : inventive <a fertile [[mind]]>
:c obsolete : plentiful
*2 a (1) : capable of sustaining abundant [[plant]] [[growth]] <fertile soil> (2) : affording [[abundant]] possibilities for [[growth]] or [[development]] <damp bathrooms are fertile ground for fungi — Consumer Reports> <a fertile area for [[research]]>
:b : capable of growing or developing <a fertile egg>
:c (1) : capable of producing fruit (2) of an anther : containing pollen (3) : developing spores or [[spore]]-bearing organs
:d : capable of breeding or reproducing
*3 : capable of being converted into fissionable [[material]] <fertile uranium 238>
==Description==
'''Fertility''' is the [[natural]] capability of giving life. As a [[measure]], "fertility rate" is the [[number]] of [[children]] born per couple, [[person]] or [[population]]. Fertility differs from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecundity fecundity], which is defined as the [[potential]] for [[reproduction]] ([[influenced]] by gamete production, fertilisation and carrying a pregnancy to term). Infertility is a deficient fertility.
Human fertility depends on [[factors]] of [[nutrition]], [[sexual]] [[behavior]], [[culture]], [[instinct]], endocrinology, timing, [[economics]], way of life, and [[emotions]].
Fertility is also applied to farmlands and [[plants]], where it implies a [[capacity]] to yield large crops of sound fruits, seeds or vegetables.
==Demography==
In demographic [[contexts]], fertility refers to the [[actual]] production of [[offspring]], rather than the [[physical]] capability to produce which is termed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecundity fecundity]. While fertility can be [[measured]], fecundity cannot be. Demographers measure the fertility rate in a variety of ways, which can be broadly broken into "period" [[measures]] and "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohort_(statistics) cohort]" measures. "Period" measures refer to a cross-section of the [[population]] in one year. "Cohort" data on the other hand, follows the same people over a period of decades. Both period and cohort measures are widely used.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility]
[[Category: Biology]]
==Etymology==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from [[Latin]] fertilis, from ferre to carry, bear
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Century 15th century]
==Definitions==
*1 a : producing or bearing fruit in great [[quantities]] : productive
:b : characterized by great resourcefulness of [[thought]] or [[imagination]] : inventive <a fertile [[mind]]>
:c obsolete : plentiful
*2 a (1) : capable of sustaining abundant [[plant]] [[growth]] <fertile soil> (2) : affording [[abundant]] possibilities for [[growth]] or [[development]] <damp bathrooms are fertile ground for fungi — Consumer Reports> <a fertile area for [[research]]>
:b : capable of growing or developing <a fertile egg>
:c (1) : capable of producing fruit (2) of an anther : containing pollen (3) : developing spores or [[spore]]-bearing organs
:d : capable of breeding or reproducing
*3 : capable of being converted into fissionable [[material]] <fertile uranium 238>
==Description==
'''Fertility''' is the [[natural]] capability of giving life. As a [[measure]], "fertility rate" is the [[number]] of [[children]] born per couple, [[person]] or [[population]]. Fertility differs from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecundity fecundity], which is defined as the [[potential]] for [[reproduction]] ([[influenced]] by gamete production, fertilisation and carrying a pregnancy to term). Infertility is a deficient fertility.
Human fertility depends on [[factors]] of [[nutrition]], [[sexual]] [[behavior]], [[culture]], [[instinct]], endocrinology, timing, [[economics]], way of life, and [[emotions]].
Fertility is also applied to farmlands and [[plants]], where it implies a [[capacity]] to yield large crops of sound fruits, seeds or vegetables.
==Demography==
In demographic [[contexts]], fertility refers to the [[actual]] production of [[offspring]], rather than the [[physical]] capability to produce which is termed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecundity fecundity]. While fertility can be [[measured]], fecundity cannot be. Demographers measure the fertility rate in a variety of ways, which can be broadly broken into "period" [[measures]] and "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohort_(statistics) cohort]" measures. "Period" measures refer to a cross-section of the [[population]] in one year. "Cohort" data on the other hand, follows the same people over a period of decades. Both period and cohort measures are widely used.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility]
[[Category: Biology]]
