melliferous
Syllables: mel·li·fer·ous/mɪˈlɪfəɹəs/US/məˈlɪfəɹəs/
melliferous adjective: of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey.
Adjective
melliferous (comparative more melliferous, superlative most melliferous)
- Of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey.
- [I]t vvas impoſſible to tell the Number of Palm-Trees, Olive-Trees, and Fig-trees [in Canaan]; beſides the Paſturage for raiſing innumerable Cattle; and vvas the great Market, for the Arabians and all the Countries about. And being Mountanous, could not but abound vvith Melliferous Plants of the...1701, Nehemiah Grew, “Of the Truth and Excellency of the Hebrew Code. And First, as They Appear from Foreign Proof.”, in Cosmologia Sacra: Or A Discourse of the Universe as It is the Creature and...
- Pliny [the Elder] ſays this flovver [the anemone] […] differs alſo from ranunclulus in not having a melliferous pore on the clavv of each petal.1789, [Erasmus Darwin], “Canto I”, in The Botanic Garden; a Poem, in Two Parts. […], London: J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1791, →OCLC, part II (The Loves of the Plants; 3rd edition), footnote...
- Producing honey.
- The Hymenoptera belonging to the melliferous or honey-collecting division of the Aculeata, are known by the peculiar conformation of the hind feet, of which the first joint is compressed and extended into the form of a square plate, and provided on its inside with brush-like tufts; these organs are...1849, “Class VI.—Insects.”, in D[avid] M[eredith] Reese, editor, Elements of Zoology, or Natural History of Animals (Chambers’ Educational Course; no. VI), New York, N.Y.: A[lfred] S[mith] Barnes &...
- It is stated that honey has been found in the galleries of certain exotic species of Ants, but it is doubtful whether they have not stolen it from some other animals. However this may be, the most perfect melliferous animals are the Bees.1861, A[lfred] Moquin-Tandon, “Section IV. Animals or Animal Products Employed as Accessories in Medicine.”, in Robert Thomas Hulme, transl., Elements of Medical Zoology. […], London: H[ippolyte]...
- Synonyms:
- mellific
- Honeyed, sweet.
- melliferous music
- […] Chriſt Jeſus, […] vvith the cæleſtiall devv of his ſpirituall graces diſtilling from the throne of his mercy, (vvhich is perfumed vvith the ſvveet ſmelling incenſe of his meritorious ſacrifice) doeth ſvveeten vvith melliferous odours, the hearts, and ſoules and conſciences of his children...1617 June 20 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Immanuel Bourne, The Rainebow, or, A Sermon Preached at Pauls Crosse the Tenth Day of Iune. 1617, London: […] [John Legate] for Thomas Adams...
melliferous meaning in Tamil
melliferous in Tamil
- தேன் தரும், தேன் சுமக்கும்
Examples of melliferous in a sentence
- And being Mountanous, could not but abound vvith Melliferous Plants of the beſt kind.1701, Nehemiah Grew, “Of the Truth and Excellency of the Hebrew Code. And First, as They Appear from Foreign Proof.”, in Cosmologia Sacra...
- Competing growth is removed around 34 melliferous plant species at field edges and in neighboring woodlands.1999, Kenneth W. Mudge, Eric B[arton] Brennan, “Clonal Propagation of Multipurpose and Fruit Trees Used in Agroforestry”, in Louise...
- The importance of the flowering in the dry season was reported by Porter-Bolland (2003), who found that at least 30% of the melliferous flora of Campeche flowers in the dry season.2015, Mirna Valdez-Hernández, “Vegetative and Reproductive Plant Phenology”, in Gerald Alexander Islebe, Sophie Calmé, Jorge L[eonel]...
- VVhat melliferous ſounds are theſe I hear, / Svviftly floating thro' the ambient air? / It is the note of pure ſeraphic fire, / Svveetly hailing our much honour'd Sire.c. 1793 January 22 (date written), [anonymous], “An Elegy on the Much Lamented Death of the Rev. John Berridge, Late Vicar of Everton, near...
Synonyms of melliferous
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of melliferous
| comparative | more melliferous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most melliferous |
Origin of melliferous
PIE word *mélit Learned borrowing from Latin mellifer (“honey-bearing, honey-producing, melliferous”) + English -ous (suffix forming adjectives denoting the presence of a quality, typically in abundance). Mellifer is derived from mel (“honey”) (plural form mella; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mélit (“honey”)) + -fer (suffix meaning ‘bearing, bringing, carrying’).
Words that rhyme with melliferous
- proliferous
- aestiferous
- antheriferous
- aquiferous
- conchiferous
- cruciferous
- culmiferous
- foraminiferous
- gemmiferous
- herbiferous
- luciferous
- magnetiferous
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- mammiferous
- mortiferous
- multiferous
- papyriferous
- pediferous
- pestiferous
- pomiferous
- poriferous
- radiferous
- salutiferous
- seminiferous
- stelliferous
- umbelliferous
- acetabuliferous
- acidiferous
- aeriferous
- agatiferous
- albuminiferous
- aliferous
- alkaliferous
- alumiferous
- aluminiferous
- amberiferous
- amentiferous
- ammonitiferous
- amygdaliferous
- amyliferous
- anatiferous
- angeliferous
- antenniferous
- anthraciferous
- argentiferous
- argilliferous
- armiferous
- astriferous
- auriferous
- bacciferous
- balaniferous
- balsamiferous
- belliferous
- biliferous
- bituminiferous
- branchiferous
- bulbiferous
- byssiferous
- cadmiferous
- calamiferous
- calcariferous
Questions about melliferous
- What does melliferous mean?
- Melliferous means of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey.
- What is melliferous in Tamil?
- Melliferous in Tamil is தேன் தரும், தேன் சுமக்கும். See Melliferous meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use melliferous in a sentence?
- And being Mountanous, could not but abound vvith Melliferous Plants of the beſt kind.
- What part of speech is melliferous?
- Melliferous is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce melliferous?
- Melliferous is pronounced /mɪˈlɪfəɹəs/ (UK).
Words near melliferous in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: melliferous (page history and authors); melliferous (Tamil Wiktionary) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-melliferous.wav.
Cite this entry: “melliferous.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/melliferous. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.