-merous

See also: mérous

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) enPR: -mərəs, IPA^(key): /-məɹəs/
(US) enPR: -mərəs, IPA^(key): /-məɹəs/

Suffix

-merous

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

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -merous

References

“-merous” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary (second edition, 1989)
“-merous, comb. form” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary (draft revision, June 2010)

Anagrams

Mouser, moeurs, mouser, oremus

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