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gypsiferous

gypsiferous

9.9
Soil or rock that contains a soft white mineral used to make plaster
  • adjective
  • /ˌdʒɪpsɪˈfɛrəs/
  • Specialized
: yeso
  • The gypsiferous soil in the region is ideal for growing certain types of crops.

Examples

  • Farmers often use gypsiferous materials to improve the quality of their soil.

  • The construction company sourced gypsiferous rock to create a natural plaster.

  • Norton says, "Using gypsiferous byproducts would give farmers a low-cost

    Academic text (1997)
  • They tested surface applications of 2.2 tons per acre of gypsiferous byproduct from the Purdue University power plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, as well as a liquid solution of 18 pounds per acre of PAM sprayed on the soil and allowed to dry.

    Academic text (1997)

Surface Forms

gypsiferous positive

Morphology

gypsiferous = gypsum (semi-transparent) = gypsum + ferous

The word is formed from gypsum plus the technical suffix -ferous ('bearing/containing'), so the meaning is inferable but specialized.

Etymology

Gypsiferous comes from gypsum, the soft mineral gypsum, plus the ending -ferous, which means 'bearing' or 'carrying', like in the word transfer. So gypsiferous describes soil or rock that contains or 'carries' gypsum.