-merous

English

Etymology

From the suffixation of the French -mère and its etymon the Ancient Greek -μερής (-merēs) (“having (the specified number of) parts”, “sharing”: the combining form of μέρος (meros, “part”)) with the English -ous; compare the English -mer and -mere, as well as the French -mère and the German -mer.

Pronunciation

• (RP) enPR: —mərəs, IPA: /—məɹəs/, X-SAMPA: /—m@r\@s/
• (US) enPR: —mərəs, IPA: /—məɻəs/, X-SAMPA: /—m@r\`@s/

Suffix

-merous

1. (biology, forming adjectives) Having parts of the specified quality.
2. (chiefly botany and zoology, forming adjectives) Comprising the specified number of parts.

Usage notes

1. In biological descriptions, it is common to use numbers instead the Greek prefixes.

Derived terms

[+] English words suffixed with -merous

References

• “-merous” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd ed., 1989]
• “-merous, comb. form” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [draft revision, June 2010]