-merous

The combining form -merous is used like a suffix to mean “having parts.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in botany.

The form -merous comes from Greek méros, meaning “part” or “portion.” From this same source, we also inherit the combining forms -mer and -mere.

Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for both forms.

One example of a scientific term that features the form -merous is heptamerous, “consisting of or divided into seven parts.”

The first part of the word, hepta-, means “seven,” from Greek heptá, while the form -merous means “having parts.” Heptamerous literally translates to “having seven parts.”

What are some words that use the combining form -merous?

• allomerous
• dimerous (using the equivalent form of -merous in Greek)
• isomerous
• pentamerous (using the equivalent form of -merous in Latin)
• tetramerous (using the equivalent form of -merous in Greek)

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -merous, such as numerous, is necessarily using the combining form -merous to denote “having parts.” Learn why numerous means “many” at our entry for the word.

The combining form di- means “two.” With this in mind, what does dimerous literally mean?