fertilization
nounEtymology From French fertilisation; equivalent to fertilize + -ation.
1
The act or process of rendering fertile.
2
The act of fecundating or impregnating the gametes of animals, plants, etc.; including the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, an analogous process in flowerless plants, or the joining of sperm and egg in animals.
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
3
The act of applying fertilizer to soil.
- Synonyms
- conception, fecundation, syngamy, impregnation
- Derived terms
- alternative fertilization, biofertilization, close fertilization, cross-fertilization, defertilization, external fertilization, fertilizational, heterofertilization, internal fertilization, in vitro fertilization, legitimate fertilization, overfertilization, postfertilization, prefertilization, refertilization, self-fertilization, underfertilization