▪ I. cerous, a.1 Chem.
(ˈsɪərəs)
[f. cer-ium + -ous.]
Of the nature of Cerium; applied to chemical compounds in which cerium combines as a triad, as in cerous salts; cerous chloride, CeCl3, cerous oxide, Ce2O3. cerous silicate, Ce2Si3O12.
| 1863–72 Watts Dict. Chem. I. 834 Cerous fluoride is obtained as a white precipitate by adding an alkaline fluoride to a cerous salt. Ibid. 835 Cerous silicate exists in nature as Cerite; the phosphate as Monazite, Edwardsite, Cryptolite, and Phosphocerite; the carbonate in Parisite. |
▪ II. cerous, a.2 Ornith.
(ˈsɪərəs)
[f. cere n., or L. cēra + -ous.]
Of the nature of a cere.
| 1869 Gillmore Rept. & Birds Introd. 190 In the Goose, we find the bill..covered at the base with a cerous skin. |