Bearing or producing hair; having hair-like structures.
From Latin crinis (hair) plus -ferous (bearing or producing), following the classical pattern seen in words like 'carboniferous' and 'coniferous' that describe something as 'bearing' a substance.
The '-ferous' suffix is a productive classical element in scientific vocabulary—'carboniferous,' 'coniferous,' and 'criniferous' all follow the same pattern, but 'criniferous' is so rare that most people have never heard it, showing how some logical word formations never catch on in actual usage.
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