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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 ��󲹲���î��, 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 �y��vlogs 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?