'male-fertile' is a compound of 'male' + 'fertile'. 'Male' originates from Old French 'masle' (from Latin 'masculus') meaning 'male', and 'fertile' originates from Latin 'fertilis' (from the root 'ferre' meaning 'to bear' or 'to carry').

'male' passed into English via Old French 'masle' from Latin 'masculus'; 'fertile' came from Latin 'fertilis' into Old French and then Middle English as 'fertile'. The modern compound 'male-fertile' is formed in English by combining these two elements to describe male reproductive capability.

Each element originally referred to 'male' and 'bearing/producing' respectively; together they have come to mean specifically 'able to produce viable male gametes' in biological contexts.