fecund

/ˈfɛk.ənd/

//ˈfɛk.ənd// adj

"fecund" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fecund” is uncommon English (frequency #98,110 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,110
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Highly fertile; able to produce offspring.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fecund · fecund · English

fecund · rank #98,110 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,110
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Fawzi

Nearest frequency peer: Fawzi (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “fecund”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “fecund” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for fecund
PropertyValue
Headwordfecund
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɛk.ənd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#98,110
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fecund” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).fecundfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Fawzi” (#98,109), “Farhadi” (#98,106), “ferrule” (#98,114). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fecund” is #98,110. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fecund is uncommon English at frequency #98,110 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈfɛk.ənd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

fecund doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French fécond, from Latin fēcundus (“fertile”), which is related to fētus and fēmina (“woman”). The correct English form is fecund, spelled F-E-C-U-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Highly fertile; able to produce offspring.
  2. 2
    Leading to new ideas or innovation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fecund appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The number of children per woman depends, as has been said, on biological and social factors which determine: (1) the frequency of births during a woman's fecund period, and (2) the portion of the fecund period--between puberty and menopause--effectively utilized for reproduction.
  2. The druids […] believed that mistletoe could make barren animals fecund, and that it was an antidote to all poisons.

Etymology

From Middle French fécond, from Latin fēcundus (“fertile”), which is related to fētus and fēmina (“woman”).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fecund"?
"fecund" is spelled F-E-C-U-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛk.ənd/.
What does "fecund" mean?
As an adjective, "fecund" means: Highly fertile; able to produce offspring.
How do you pronounce "fecund"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fecund" is /ˈfɛk.ənd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fecund"?
From Middle French fécond, from Latin fēcundus (“fertile”), which is related to fētus and fēmina (“woman”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fecund", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list