These two terms both deal with reproduction of species (most often mammals), but their difference is not so much physiological as semantic. That is, “fertility” deals with the ability to reproduce, while “fecundity” refers to frequency, willingness, and healthiness of a female to undergo the fertilization numerous times. In bygone days, human fecundity allowed family offspring sizes to go up to and past a dozen; in modern times a family with eight offspring from one mother would be described as “fecund.” As a metaphor in, for example, a business environment, a “fertile” situation is one in which the environment invites new ideas, creativity, fresh thinking – it is a “fertile” environment. Fecundity in business refers to an ongoing creativity, a business atmosphere that invites continued innovation, where new products and ideas are being “born” almost daily. Some companies (Google, for example) thrive on continued innovation, while other companies survive on one single product that was introduced and exploited at the right time.
