A.Word.A.Day --allotriophagy

A.Word.A.Day

Home

Sep 21, 2022

This week’s theme
Words made with combining forms

This week’s words
bridezilla
autolatry
allotriophagy
zoanthropy
orography

Roll the dice
Get a random word from our archives

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

PRONUNCIATION:

(uh-lah-tree-AH-fuh-jee)

MEANING:

noun: An abnormal desire to eat things not usually eaten, such as chalk or clay. Also known as pica.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek allotrio- (foreign) -phagy (eating). Earliest documented use: 1845.

USAGE:

“A taste for blood may very well be a form of allotriophagy.”
Tatsuaki Ishiguro; Biogenesis; Kodansha; 2015.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win. -Stephen King, novelist (b. 21 Sep 1947)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate