ericaceous

adjective

er·​i·​ca·​ceous ˌer-ə-ˈkā-shəs How to pronounce ericaceous (audio)
: of, relating to, or being a heath or the heath family

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Ericaceae, the heath family (from Erica erica + -aceae -aceae) + -ous

First Known Use

circa 1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ericaceous was circa 1859

Rhymes for ericaceous

See All Rhymes for ericaceous

Browse Nearby Words

Ericaceae
ericaceous
ericad
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ericaceous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ericaceous. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Words You Always Have to Look Up

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Popular

See More

Words You Always Have to Look Up

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All