Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

melliferous

/məˈlɪfəɹəs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
mel-li-fer-ous
IPA
/məˈlɪfəɹəs/
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey.

adj

Honeyed, sweet.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mélit Proto-Italic *meli Latin mel Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *bʰorós Proto-Italic *-foros Latin -fer Latin melliferlbor. Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English 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’).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /məˈlɪfəɹəs/
  • British English: /mɪˈlɪfəɹəs/

Inflected Forms

more melliferous (comparative) most melliferous (superlative)

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce melliferous?
The recorded pronunciation is /məˈlɪfəɹəs/.
What does melliferous mean?
Of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey.
Where does melliferous come from?
It is traced to Proto-Indo-European.

How to pronounce melliferous

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “melliferous”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/məˈlɪfəɹəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “melliferous”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “melliferous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.