1660s, "something that fertilizes (land)," agent noun from fertilize. As a euphemism for "manure," from 1846.
1640s, "make fertile;" see fertile + -ize. Its biological sense of "unite with an egg cell" is first recorded 1859. Related: Fertilized; fertilizing.
updated on October 29, 2014
英语词源词典收录了45867条英语词源词条，基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史，是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。