ferrous
/ˈfɛɹəs/adjective
ferrous is spelled F-E-R-R-O-U-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ferrous means “Of or containing iron” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ferrous?
| Letters | 7: F-E-R-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ferrous?
Ferrous appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ferrous?
- /ˈfɛɹəs/
Ferrous has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ferrous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ferrous
- more ferrous comparative
- most ferrous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ferrous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or containing iron.
ferrous metals
- 2
Of compounds of iron in which it has a valence or oxidation number of +2.
- 3
Of an element: iron, or in certain ways similar to iron. (Said mainly of iron group elements, in any sense of that term.)
ferrous metals
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ferrous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or containing iron:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ferreux, ferrugineux |
| German | eisern, eisenhaltig |
| Portuguese | férreo, ferroso |
| Spanish | férreo, férrico, ferroso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ferrous come from?
From ferro- + -ous, from Latin ferreus directly or via French ferreux, from ferrum (“iron”) + -eus (“-ous: forming adjectives”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).