Where does “auriferous” come from?
Auriferous derives from Latin aurifer, meaning gold-bearing, combining aurum (gold) from Proto-Italic auzom and Latin -fer (bearing) from Proto-Indo-European h₂er-.
auriferous (English): Containing or producing gold; gold-bearing
Definitions
- Containing or producing gold; gold-bearing
Ancestry of “auriferous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | aurifer | bearing, producing or containing gold,... |
| 2 | Latin | aurum | gold; any object made of gold, such as a gold... |
| 3 | Latin | ausum | nominative neuter singular of ausus; accusative... |
| 4 | Latin | ausus | dared, having dared, ventured, having ventured,... |
| 5 | Latin | audeō | to dare, venture, risk |
| 6 | Latin | avidus | Greedy, avaricious, covetous; Eager,... |
| 7 | Latin | -idus | tending to |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-iðos | — |