The Phrontistery


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Feeding and Eating

Like many people, I enjoy eating - perhaps too much so. This list of 113 words describes different things one could eat, although a human would have to be pretty desperate to eat lice or limestone. Then again, I've eaten at McDonald's hundreds of times, so I'm not that sure that I haven't already done so. These words generally end in "phagous", from the Greek phagein, or "vorous", from Latin vorare, both verbs meaning "to eat". Which suffix you want to use depends on whether you feel like having souvlaki or spaghetti.


Word Definition
allotriophagy craving for strange foods
androphagy cannibalism
anthropophaginian cannibal
anthropophagous eating humans
aphagia inability to eat or swallow
apivorous eating bees
arachnivorous feeding on spiders
autocoprophagy eating one's own feces
autophagy feeding on body's own tissues
baccivorous eating berries
batrachivorous frog-eating
bibliophagist one who devours books, literally or figuratively
calcivorous feeding on or living in limestone
cardophagus donkey; something that eats thistles
carnivorous eating flesh
carpophagous fruit-eating
cepivorous onion-eating
chthonophagia eating dirt
comburivorous consuming by fire
coprophagous eating feces
creatophagous carnivorous; flesh-eating
creophagous flesh-eating; carnivorous
detritivore animal that eats decomposing organic matter
dysphagia pathological difficulty in swallowing
endophagy cannibalism within a tribe; eating away from within
entomophagous eating insects
equivorous consuming horseflesh
exophagy cannibalism outside one's own group
foliophagous eating leaves; eating folios of books
formivorous eating ants
fructivorous feeding on fruit
frugivorous eating fruit
fucivorous eating seaweed
galactophagist milk drinker
gamophagia destruction of one gamete by another
geophagy practice of feeding on soil; dirt-eating
glossophagine eating using the tongue
graminivorous feeding on grass or cereals
granivorous feeding on seeds
gumnivorous feeding on tree saps
herbivorous eating only plant matter
hippophagy feeding on horses
homnivorous eating humans
hylophagous eating wood
hyperphagia eating too much
ichthyophagous fish-eating
insectivorous eating insects
kreatophagia eating of raw meat
larvivorous feeding on larvae
lignivorous feeding on wood
limivorous eating mud
lithophagous stone-swallowing; rock-boring; eating rock
lotophagous feeding on lotuses; indolent; lazy; dreamy
mallophagous eating wool or fleece
meconophagist consumer of opium or heroin
meliphagous feeding upon honey
mellivorous honey-eating
merdivorous dung-eating
microphagous feeding on small creatures or plants
monophagous feeding on only one type of food
mucivorous feeding on plant juices
mycophagous eating fungus
myristicivorous feeding upon nutmegs
myrmecophagous feeding on ants
necrophagous feeding on the dead
nectarivorous feeding on nectar
nucivorous nut-eating
omnivorous eating anything; eating both plant and animal matter
omophagy eating of raw flesh as a ritual observance
onychophagist nail-biter
ophiophagous eating snakes
oryzivorous rice-eating
ossivorous feeding on bones
ostreophagous oyster-eating
ovivorous eating eggs
ovivorous eating sheep
paedophage eater of children
pagophagia eating trays of ice to help offset iron deficiency
panivorous bread-eating
pantophagy omnivorousness
phthirophagous lice-eating
phyllophagous leaf-eating
phytivorous feeding on plants
phytophagous feeding on vegetable matter
piscivorous fish-eating
placentophagy eating of the placenta
plantivorous plant-eating
plasmophagous consuming plasma
poephagous eating grass or herbs; herbivorous
poltophagy prolonged chewing of food
polyphagous eating many types of food
psomophagy swallowing food without thorough chewing
radicivorous eating roots
ranivorous eating frogs
rhizophagous root-eating
rhypophagy eating filth
sanguivorous blood-drinking
saprophagous feeding on decaying material
sarcophagous feeding on flesh; carnivorous
saurophagous eating lizards
scatophagous dung-eating
seminivorous seed-eating
stercovorous feeding on dung or excrement
thalerophagous feeding on fresh vegetable matter
theophagy sacramental consumption of a god
toxicophagous eating poison
toxiphagous poison-eating
univorous living on only one host or source of food
vegetivorous eating vegetables
vermivorous eating worms
xerophagy eating of dry food; fast of dry food in the week preceding Easter
xylophagous wood-eating
zoophagy eating animals


I hope you have found this site to be useful. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me. Please note that I am not able to respond to all requests. Please consult a major dictionary before e-mailing your query. All material on this page © 1996-2021 Stephen Chrisomalis. Links to this page may be made without permission.

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