Wiktionary

melliferous

English edit

WOTD – 20 May 2024

Etymology edit

PIE word
*mélit
 
A western honey bee (Apis mellifera) on a melliferous (sense 1) flower.

Learned borrowing from Latin mellifer (“honey-bearing, honey-producing, melliferous”) + English -ous (suffix). Mellifer is derived from mel (“honey”) (plural form mella; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mélit (“honey”)) + -fer (suffix meaning ‘bearing, bringing, carrying’).[1]

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

melliferous (comparative more melliferous, superlative most melliferous)

  2. (botany) Of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey.
    Hyponyms: nectariferous, polleniferous, polliniferous
    • 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 Kingdom of God. […], London: […] W. Rogers, S. Smith, and B[enjamin] Walford: […], →OCLC, 4th book, paragraph 22, pages 148–149:
      [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 beſt kind.
    • 1789, [Erasmus Darwin], 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, page 33:
      Pliny [the Elder] ſays this flovver [the anemone] […] differs alſo from ranunclulus in not having a melliferous pore on the clavv of each petal.
    • 1815, William Kirby, William Spence, “Letter IX. Benefits Derived from Insects.”, in An Introduction to Entomology: Or Elements of the Natural History of Insects: […], volume I, London: […] [by Richard and Arthur Taylor] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], →OCLC, page 288:
      Thus, for the due fertilization of the common Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) it is necessary that the irritable stamens should be brought into contact with the pistil by the application of some stimulus to the base of the filament; but this would never take place were not insects attracted by the melliferous glands of the flower to insinuate themselves amongst the filaments, and thus while seeking their own food unknowingly fulfil the intentions of nature in another department.
    • 1999, Kenneth W. Mudge, Eric B. Brennan, “Clonal Propagation of Multipurpose and Fruit Trees Used in Agroforestry”, in Louise E. Buck, James P. Lassoie, Erick C. M. Fernandes, editors, Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems (Advances in Agroecology), Boca Raton, Fla.: Lewis Publishers, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 142:
      In the Yucatan of Mexico, most resource-poor farmers manage garden, overstory, and edge vegetation to generate plant products for household use and income from non-timber forest products such as honey. Competing growth is removed around 34 melliferous plant species at field edges and in neighboring woodlands. This pruning requires in-depth knowledge of flowering phenology of melliferous and polliniferous species in the area.
    • 2015, Mirna Valdez-Hernández, “Vegetative and Reproductive Plant Phenology”, in Gerald Alexander Islebe, Sophie Calmé, Jorge L. León-Cortés, Birgit Schmook, editors, Biodiversity and Conservation of the Yucatán Peninsula, Cham, Zug, Switzerland: Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, part II (Plants and Environment), page 94:
      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.
  3. (by extension) Producing honey.
    Synonym: mellific
    • 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. S. Barnes & Co. […], →OCLC, paragraph 574, page 346:
      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 employed for the purpose of collecting and carrying the pollen of flowers, which is employed for the nourishment of the young.
    • 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. Baillière, […], →OCLC, § X (Honey), page 196:
      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.
    • 1998, H. R[andall] Hepburn, S[arah] E. Radloff, “Populations: Forms of Measurement”, in Honeybees of Africa, Berlin; Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg: Springer, →ISBN, page 97:
      [B]oth effective developmental beekeeping and population studies of honeybees are totally predicated on a knowledge of the natural distributions, relative population densities and carrying capacity of real or potential melliferous lands.
  4. (figurative) Honeyed, sweet.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sweet
    melliferous music
    • 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, published 1617, →OCLC, page [53]:
      […] 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, making them acceptable in the noſtrils of their heauenly Father.
    • c. 1793 January 22 (date written), [anonymous], “An Elegy on the Much Lamented Death of the Rev. John Berridge, Late Vicar of Everton, near Potton, in Bedfordshire. […]”, in John Berridge, A Short Account of the Life and Conversion of the Rev. John Berridge, M.A. Late Vicar of Everton, Bedfordshire. In a Letter from Himself to a Clergyman. […], London: J. Chalmers [et al.], published 1794, →OCLC, page 31:
      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.
    • 1829, [Georges] Cuvier, Edward Griffith, Edward Pidgeon, John Edward Gray, “Supplement on the Tenuirostres”, in The Class Aves […] (The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with Its Organization; VII), volume II, London: […] [Shackell and Baylis] for Whittaker, Treacher, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 392:
      The souimangas live on insects, to which they add the melliferous juice of flowers.
    • 1950, Sergius Kagen, “The Study of General Musicianship”, in Ernest Hutcheson, editor, On Studying Singing (The Field of Music; IV), New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Rinehart & Company, →OCLC, page 26:
      [T]he partisans of the view that a singer only needs to know how to produce melliferous sounds are equally unrealistic and shortsighted. I am most willing to admit that an exceptionally gifted singer may manage to perform without even knowing whether he should read the music from right to left or left to right. However, I don't see how this admission would invalidate the contention that a singer needs to know as much about music as he can manage to learn.

Usage notes edit

Not to be confused with mellifluous (“flowing like honey; (figurative) pleasant to hear; sweet, smooth and musical”).

Related terms edit

Translations edit

honeyed, sweet — see honeyed,‎ sweet

References edit

  1. ^ “melliferous, adj.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “melliferous, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading edit

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