ferrous
/ˈfɛrəs
/adjective
1(Chiefly of metals) containing or consisting of iron.Except for aluminium and ferrous metal such as steel, the prices for most recyclable materials rests at the bottom of their historical ranges....
- Good markets for ferrous metals, as well as copper and brass, have existed for years.
- Anglo American is also involved in mining gold, diamonds, coal and ferrous metal but platinum accounts for 12% of its total revenues and 20% of its income.
2 Chemistry Of iron with a valency of two; of iron(II). Compare with ferric.The ability of wetland plants to flourish in environments with high Fe concentrations has been attributed to the oxidation of soluble ferrous iron to insoluble ferric iron in the rhizosphere....
- Within the body iron exist in two oxidation states: ferrous or ferric.
- The color due to ferric iron is yellow, not green, and ferric iron is not driven off but rather is reduced in oxidation state to ferrous iron.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Latin ferrum 'iron' + -ous.