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-aceous

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a suffix with the meanings “resembling, having the nature of,” “made of,” occurring in loanwords from Latin (cretaceous; herbaceous) and forming adjectives in English on the Latin model (ceraceous), especially adjectival correspondents to taxonomic names ending in -acea and -aceae: rosaceous.
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Origin of -aceous

<Latin -āceus;see -ous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for -aceous

-aceous

suffix forming adjectives
relating to, belonging to, having the nature of, or resemblingherbaceous; larvaceous

Word Origin for -aceous

New Latin, from Latin -āceus of a certain kind; related to -āc, -āx, adjectival suffix
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for -aceous

-aceous

A suffix used to form adjectives meaning “made of” or “resembling” a particular substance or material, such as silicaceous, containing silicon.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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