Where does “fossiliferous” come from?

Fossiliferous comes from English fossil and English -ferous, which derives from Latin -ifer, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰer- meaning to carry or bear.

fossiliferous (English): Containing fossils

Definitions

  1. Containing fossils

Ancestry of “fossiliferous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ferousUsed to form adjectives from nouns, producing the...
2English-ousUsed to form adjectives from nouns, to denote...
3Middle English-ous—
4Old French-us-ous, used for forming adjectives
5Latin-ōsusose, -ous, -ful (full of or overly prone to)
6Old Latin-ōssus—

Words derived from “fossiliferous”

Every word from Old Latin -ōssus →Every word from Latin -ōsus →Every word from English -ous →
fossiliferous — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer