-phagy

The combining form -phagy is used like a suffix meaning “eating” or “devouring” the thing specified by the first part of the word. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form -phagy ultimately comes from the Greek phageîn, meaning “to eat, devour.” This Greek root also helps form the word esophagus. Discover the connection at our entry for the word.

What are variants of -phagy?

The combining form -phagia, as in polyphagia, is an occasional variant of -phagy.

Closely related to -phagy are -phage and -phagous. A corresponding form of -phagy combined to the beginning of words is phago-. Learn more about their specific applications at our Words That Use articles for the forms.

One example of a term from biology that features the combining form -phagy is cytophagy, meaning “the ingestion of cells by other cells.”

Cyto- is a combining form that means “cell.” The second part of the word, -phagy, means “eating,” as we’ve seen. Cytophagy, then, literally translates to “cell-eating.”

And anthropophagy is a fancy word for the rather grisly act of cannibalism (it literally means “human-eating.)

What are some words that use the combining form -phagy?

• autophagy
• bacteriophagy
• coprophagy
• geophagy
• ichthyophagy
• isophagy
• monophagy
• oligophagy
• onychophagy
• scatophagy
• xerophagy (using the equivalent form of -phagy in Greek)

What are some other forms that -phagy may be commonly confused with?

• –facient
• -gamy
• -gnathous
• -phasia
• -phile
• -phobia

The combining form geo- means “earth.” With this in mind, what is geophagy?