Melliferous
/mɛˈlɪf.ər.əs/noun
Producing or yielding honey.
Did you know?Its root comes from Latin *mel* (“honey”), a word tied to the same ancient Indo-European family that gives English **mead**, **milk**, and **mild** — all once bound up with sweetness and nourishment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*melit-
“honey, sweet liquid”
Latin
Latin
mel
“honey”
Latin
Latin
mellifer
“honey-bearing; producing honey”
Late Latin
Latin
melliferus
“honey-bearing, producing honey”
16th Century
English
melliferous
“producing or yielding honey”
Modern English
English
melliferous
“producing or yielding honey”