fecundity • \fi-ˈkən-də-tē, fe-\ • noun
1. the state of being fertile; capable of producing offspring
2. the quality of something that causes or assists healthy growth
The word fecundity has appeared in 13 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Feb. 25 in the book review “In Mo Yan’s ‘Frog,’ a Chinese Abortionist Embodies State Power” by Janet Maslin:
To make these matters even more surreal (Mr. Mo’s imagery and hothouse atmospherics have justly led to comparisons to Gabriel García Márquez), there are the frogs of the title. This is not just a reference to Tadpole and his nickname. Their slimy presence signifies every stage of fecundity, from sperm to baby; they even come to represent a black market in surrogate infants for the childless. They are objects of both horror and desire, and they give the book a strange, nightmarish quality that undermines all the government-imposed orderliness that is supposed to prevail.
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