Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Infertility
(778 words)

1. The concept

The term infertility is defined as a state without fertility, that is, as its opposite. Infertility has had negative connotations in all cultures and all historical eras. In the case of living creatures, it denotes the inability to inseminate and procreate. In the case of the earth, the term indicates the sterility of the soil or other problems that interfere with the germination and growth of plants [2. 1314 f.]. In a figurative sense, we speak, for example, of infertile ideas [3]. As a result of cooling…

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Gareis, Iris, “Infertility”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 01 December 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_029252>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190124



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