Word.ws English Dictionary

-iferous

/-ˈɪfəɹəs/

-iferous is the alternative form of -ferous.

Meaning of -ferous

Suffix

-ferous (adjective-forming suffix, comparative more -ferous, superlative most -ferous)

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense “bearing an entity or entities as specified by the noun”.
    • flagellum + -i- + -ferous → flagelliferous (“bearing a flagellum”)
  2. Used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense “producing a material as specified by the noun”.
    • nectar + -i- + -ferous → nectariferous (“producing nectar”)
  3. Used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense “containing a material as specified by the noun”.
    • nickel + -i- + -ferous → nickeliferous (“containing nickel”)

Origin of -iferous

From -i- + -ferous.

Questions about -iferous

What is -iferous the alternative form of?
-iferous is the alternative form of -ferous.
How do you pronounce -iferous?
-iferous is pronounced /-ˈɪfəɹəs/.

Words near -iferous in the dictionary

  1. -ier
  2. -ies
  3. -iest
  4. -iety
  5. -ifene
  6. -iferous
  7. -ific
  8. -ification
  9. -ifications
  10. -ified
  11. -ifier

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: -iferous (page history and authors); -ferous (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “-iferous.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/-iferous. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.