A compound adjectival suffix representing Latin -ulōsus, formed by the addition of -ōsus (see -ose suffix¹) to stems in -ul-us, -a, -um, as angulōsus from angulus, fābulōsus from fābula, perīculōsus from perīculum. Such formations are rare in earlier Latin, but a considerable number are employed by post-Augustan writers, as Pliny, Columella, etc. Among the English examples which have their source in classical or post-classical forms are angulose, calculose, fabulose, fistulose, glandulose, nebulose, pustulose, ramulose, sabulose, vermiculose. On the analogy of these, various others have been introduced, as flosculose, globulose, granulose, scrofulose, siliculose, tubulose, tumulose. These forms are parallel to a certain number of those in -ulous suffix, being as a rule either obsolete variants of these, or introduced later in order to convey the distinction commonly observed between the endings -ose suffix¹ and -ous suffix.

Used (in place of -ose suffix²) to form the systematic names of ketoses from the names of the corresponding aldoses, esp. ketoses having the carbonyl group at the second carbon atom; as hexulose, ribulose n., sedoheptulose n.