word-forming element making adjectives from nouns, meaning "having, full of, having to do with, doing, inclined to," from Old French -ous, -eux, from Latin -osus (compare -ose (1)). In chemistry, "having a lower valence than forms expressed in -ic."
Entries linking to -ous
-ose 1
word-forming element used to make adjectives from nouns, with the meaning "full of, abounding in, having qualities of," from Latin -osus (see -ous).
acanthocephalous adj.
in zoology, "having a spiny head," 1847, from acantho- (see acanthus) + Latinized adjectival form of Greek kephalē "head" (see cephalo-) + -ous.