necrophagous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   feeding on dead or decaying animal matter

   Necrophagous beetles arrived soon after the carcass was exposed.

Formed from necro-, 'dead body,' + -phagous, 'eating.' Both elements are Greek: nekros means 'dead person or corpse,' and -phagos comes from phagein, 'to eat.' The term is used chiefly in zoology and ecology for carrion-feeding organisms.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images