Etymology

melliferous

mel·li·fer·ous
M3E1L1L1I1F4E1R1O1U1S1

Today it means: Of a plant or its parts: bearing any substance (such as nectar or pollen) which is collected by bees to produce honey. Full definition →

Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? ← Latin mellifer ← Proto-Italic *meli
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mélit
  2. Proto-Italic*meli
  3. Latinmel
  4. Proto-Indo-European*bʰer-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*bʰorós
  6. Latinmellifer
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
  9. English todaymelliferous

PIE word *mélit Learned borrowing from Latin mellifer (“honey-bearing, honey-producing, melliferous”) + English -ous (suffix forming adjectives denoting the presence of a quality, typically in abundance). Mellifer is derived from mel (“honey”) (plural form mella; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mélit (“honey”)) + -fer (suffix meaning ‘bearing, bringing, carrying’).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.