[1865–70; ‹ Gk ananth(e᷄s) without flowers (an- an-1 + anth(ós) flower + -ēs adj. suffix) + -ous]This word is first recorded in the period 1865–70. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: dunk, figure skating, goulash, maverick, valence-ous is a suffix forming adjectives that have the general sense “possessing, full of”a given quality (covetous; glorious; nervous; wondrous); -ous and its variant -ious have often been used to Anglicize Latin adjectives with terminations that cannotbe directly adapted into English (atrocious; contiguous; garrulous; obvious; stupendous). As an adjective-forming suffix of neutral value, it regularly Anglicizes Greekand Latin adjectives derived without suffix from nouns and verbs; many such formationsare productive combining forms in English, sometimes with a corresponding nominalcombining form that has no suffix (as -fer and -ferous; -phore and -phorous; -pter and -pterous; -vore and -vorous)