ferruginous

[ fuh-roo-juh-nuhs ]

/ fəˈru dʒə nəs /

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adjective

Geology. iron-bearing: ferruginous clays.

of the color of iron rust.

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Origin of ferruginous

1655–65; <Latin ferrūginus rust-colored, derivative of ferrūgin-, stem of ferrūgō iron-rust, derivative of ferrum iron; see -ous

Words nearby ferruginous

ferrous sulfate, ferrous sulfide, ferrous sulphate, ferrovanadium, ferrozirconium, ferruginous, ferruginous duck, ferrule, ferry, ferryboat, ferry bridge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ferruginous in a sentence

A concretion of rounded quartz pebbles, cemented by ferruginous matter, apparently of recent formation.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
Ferruginous masses, probably consisting of brown hematite, come also from this island.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
He taught him how to clean letterpress and engravings from ferruginous, fungous, and other kinds of spots.
There and Back|George MacDonald
The boulders were all weathered a bright red and were much pitted where ferruginous minerals were leached out.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson

From nose to tail it measures about eighteen inches, and its general colour is a pale ferruginous brown, mixed with gray.
The Desert World|Arthur Mangin

British Dictionary definitions for ferruginous

ferruginous

/ (fɛˈruːdʒɪnəs) /

adjective

(of minerals, rocks, etc) containing irona ferruginous clay

rust-coloured

Word Origin for ferruginous

C17: from Latin ferrūgineus of a rusty colour, from ferrūgō iron rust, from ferrum iron

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