Zoophagia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of consuming animal flesh refers to the behavior observed in certain species, which can be characterized by either instinctual or survival-driven actions
2. This term encompasses the practice of eating animals, often highlighting the biological and ecological implications of such dietary habits
3. It signifies the consumption of living creatures, often associated with specific dietary needs within different ecological contexts

Etymology: Zoophagia is a plain technical formation built from two Greek elements. "Zoo-" comes from "zōion," meaning "animal" (a living creature), and "-phagia" comes from "phagein," "to eat." Put together, the word describes the eating of animals, the same pattern that gives us "anthropophagy" (eating humans) and "geophagy" (eating earth). The suffix "-phagia" is the more revealing part. It turns up in Greek compounds for appetite and eating habits, and English medical and scientific writers adopted it freely to name particular kinds of consumption. "Zoo-" itself is familiar from "zoology" and "zoo," though in this word it carries its older sense of "animal" rather than a menagerie. Because the word is a modern coinage from classical elements, it does not appear in ancient Greek texts. Its meaning is set by its parts: a diet defined by animal flesh, with the ecological and biological consequences the definition mentions following from that basic sense.

Synonyms: carnivory, predation

Antonyms: herbivory