prolific

English

Alternative forms

• prolifick (obsolete)

Etymology

1640–1650: from French prolifique, from Latin proles (“offspring”) and facere (“to make”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈlɪf.ɪk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈlɪf.ɪk/, /ˌpɹoʊˈlɪf.ɪk/

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• Hyphenation: pro‧li‧fic
• Rhymes: -ɪfɪk

Adjective

prolific (comparative more prolific, superlative most prolific)

1. Fertile; producing offspring or fruit in abundance — applied to plants producing fruit, animals producing young, etc.
2. Similarly producing results or performing deeds in abundance
   • 2007, Ted Jones, The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers, page 58:

     However appealing Antibes may be to migrant authors, indigenous ones are relatively scarce. A notable exception is Jacques Audiberti, Antibes-born novelist and prolific playwright who wrote in the turn-of-the-century surrealist style, with titles that translate as Slaughter, or In Favour of Infanticide.

   • 2012 September 7, Dominic Fifield, “England start World Cup campaign with five-goal romp against Moldova”, in The Guardian‎:

     The most obvious beneficiary of the visitors' superiority was Frank Lampard. By the end of the night he was perched 13th in the list of England's most prolific goalscorers, having leapfrogged Sir Geoff Hurst to score his 24th and 25th international goals. No other player has managed more than the Chelsea midfielder's 11 in World Cup qualification ties, with this a display to roll back the years.

3. (botany) Of a flower: from which another flower is produced.

Synonyms

• fertile
• (producing offspring or fruit in abundance): fecund
• (producing results or works in abundance): See also Thesaurus:productive

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “prolific”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French prolifique.

Adjective

prolific m or n (feminine singular prolifică, masculine plural prolifici, feminine and neuter plural prolifice)

1. prolific

Declension

Related terms

• prolificitate