-ferous

-ferous
comb. form (usu. -iferous) forming adjectives with the sense 'bearing', 'having' (auriferous; odoriferous).
Derivatives:
-ferously suffix -ferousness suffix
Etymology: from or after F -fegravere or L -fer producing f. ferre bear

* * *

suffix added to nouns to form adjectives. producing; containing; conveying, as in metalliferous, odoriferous.
╂[< Latin -fer (< ferre to bear) + English -ous]

* * *

(usu. -iferous) suffix having, bearing, or containing (a specified thing)

Carboniferous | pestiferous

Origin:
from French -fère or Latin -fer ‘producing’, from ferre ‘to bear’

* * *

-ferous
in actual use always -iferous (ˈɪfərəs), an adjectival suffix f. L. -fer producing (f. ferre to bear) + -ous. In Lat. the suffix -fer was always preceded by ĭ, either belonging to the stem as in pestifer, substituted for the stem-vowel as in sensifer, or inserted as a connecting vowel as in ærifer; so that the suffix practically appears in Lat. as -ifer, and in Eng. as -iferous. In Eng. it appeared first in words taken from Lat., either directly or through Fr. adaptations in -fère, as in auriferous, bacciferous, biferous, cruciferous, frugiferous, glandiferous, lactiferous, metalliferous, odoriferous, pomiferous, rosiferous, soporiferous, thuriferous, vociferous. On the analogy thus established -iferous became a living English suffix, capable of combining with any Latin stem, and forms an unlimited number of derivatives, esp. in Natural History, as acidiferous, argentiferous, carboniferous, cocciferous, fossiliferous, lucriferous, sanguiferous, umbelliferous.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ferous — Fe rous, a. [L. ferus. See {Fierce}.] Wild; savage. [R.] Arthur Wilson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • -ferous — fer*ous [L. fer. fr. ferre to bear. See {Bear} to support.] A suffix signifying bearing, producing, yielding; as, auriferous, yielding gold; chyliferous, producing chyle. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • -ferous — (usu. iferous) ► COMBINING FORM ▪ having, bearing, or containing (a specified thing): Carboniferous. ORIGIN from Latin fer producing …   English terms dictionary

  • -ferous — [fər əs] [L fer < ferre, BEAR1 + OUS] suffix forming adjectives bearing, producing [coniferous] …   English World dictionary

  • -ferous — adjective combining form Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French & Latin; Anglo French fere fer, from Latin fer bearing ; producing < carboniferous > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • -ferous — a combining form meaning bearing, producing, yielding, containing, conveying, used in the formation of compound words: coniferous; pestiferous. Cf. fer. [ME; see FER, OUS] * * * …   Universalium

  • -ferous — [L. ferre to bear] a word termination meaning bearing or producing …   Medical dictionary

  • -ferous — (usu. iferous) combining form having, bearing, or containing (a specified thing): Carboniferous. Derivatives ferously combining form. ferousness combining form. Origin from Fr. fère or L. fer producing , from ferre to bear …   English new terms dictionary

  • -ferous — (L). Bearing …   Dictionary of word roots and combining forms

  • -ferous — fer·ous …   English syllables

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