coprophagy
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From copro- (“excrement”) + -phagy (“to feed on”).
Noun
[edit]coprophagy (uncountable)
- The eating of feces.
- 1980, G. J. Kenagy, D. F. Hoyt, “Reingestion of Feces in Rodents and Its Daily Rhythmicity”, in Oecologia, volume 44, number 3, page 403:
- We use "coprophagy" as the simplest available general term to describe ingestion of the feces, without any implication of cause, circumstances, or the origin or nature of fecal material consumed.
- 1989, Nutrition and Management of Dogs and Cats, page 38:
- Other studies postulate that dogs practice coprophagy in an attempt to conserve digestive enzymes, in particular protelytic enzymes and amylase (McCuistion, 1966).
- 2010, Peter Conrad, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 52:
- In Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre (2003), Kosky previewed the apocalypse in a blitz of surreal images that made coprophagy, as he puts it, look "gorgeous".
- Synonym: scatophagy
Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]the eating of feces
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