Word of the Day

: September 4, 2017

fruition

noun froo-ISH-un

What It Means

1 : pleasurable use or possession : enjoyment

2 a : the state of bearing fruit

b : realization

fruition in Context

"… wife and husband had nothing to do but to link each other's arms together, and wander gently downwards towards old age in happy and perfect fruition." — William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848

"Many brands depend on crowdfunding to bring a concept to fruition." — Curtis Sparrer, Adweek.com, 7 Apr. 2017

Did You Know?

Fruition must come from the word fruit, right? Not exactly. Fruition and fruit are related (both ultimately come from the Latin verb frui, meaning "to enjoy"), but they were derived independently. The original meaning of fruition had nothing to do with fruit. Rather, when the term was first used in the early 15th century, it meant only "pleasurable use or possession." Not until the 19th century did fruition develop a second meaning, "the state of bearing fruit," possibly as the result of a mistaken assumption that fruition evolved from fruit. The "state of bearing fruit" sense was followed quickly by the figurative application to anything that can be "realized" and metaphorically bear fruit, such as a plan or a project.