fructuous

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2010 is: fructuous • \FRUK-chuh-wus\  • adjective : fruitful Examples: "The parents in our 1924 drama, like most parents past and forevermore, are praying mainly for a sound baby, with all the stuff for a long, fructuous life." (Ed Hayes, Orlando Sentinel, May 11, 2008) Did you know? In Latin the word "fructus" means both "fruit" and "enjoyment" or "use." A rich crop of English derivatives grew from that root, including "fructuous," "fructose" (a sugar found in fruits), "fruition" ("the state of bearing fruit"), "usufruct" ("the right to use or enjoy something"), and even "fruit" itself. "Fructuous" comes from the Middle French adjective "fructueux" and the Latin adjective "fructuosus," both ultimately derived from "fructus." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.