-eous

suffix forming adjectives meaning 'of the nature of' (erroneous; gaseous).

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\\ēəs, yəs; or əs when the e influences the pronunciation of the preceding consonant as in “cretaceous”\ adjective suffix

Etymology: Latin -eus composed of, of the nature of or resembling (a specified substance); akin to Greek -eos composed of, Sanskrit -aya

: like : resembling : of the nature of

aqueous

vitreous

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an adjectival suffix with the meanings "composed of," "resembling, having the nature of," occurring in loanwords from Latin (igneous; ligneous; vitreous); also, as a semantically neutral suffix, found on adjectives of diverse origin, sometimes with corresponding nouns ending in -ty² (beauteous; courteous; hideous; homogeneous; plenteous; righteous).

[ < L -eus; see -OUS]

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suffix (forming adjectives) resembling; displaying the nature of

aqueous | erroneous

Origin:

from the Latin suffix -eus + -ous

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-eous, suffix

occurring in adjs., is chiefly f. L. -e-us + -ous. The Eng. words with this suffix are for the most part practically mere adaptations of L. adjs. in -eus, the senses of which they generally retain. While, however, the L. adjs. in -eus f. ns. denoting material substances have usually the sense ‘composed of’, as well as the sense ‘of the nature of, resembling’, their Eng. derivatives in -eous express the latter meaning only: compare, e.g. argenteous, ligneous, vitreous, with the corresponding words in Latin. In a very few cases (e.g. aqueous) Eng. adjs. in -eous have been formed directly on L. ns. The L. ending -eus also occurs as part of a complex suffix, as in the words in -āceus (see -aceous) and -āneus (cf. consentaneous, instantaneous).

2. In beauteous, bounteous, duteous, plenteous, the ending -eous arises from the addition of the suffix -ous to -te, earlier form of -ty; but in the older words of this formation -teous replaces an earlier -tivous, f. Fr. -tif + -ous; e.g. bounteous was originally bountivous, f. Fr. bontif, f. bonté: see bounty.

3. In a few instances -eous is an analogical deformation of other suffixes, as in righteous (for rightwise), courteous, for ME. curteis a. OFr. curteis (-eis:—L. -ēnsem).