Science & Tech > Biology > Nutrition

Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.

alimentation the act of feeding or being fed.
anthophilous feeding upon or living among flowers eg the anthophilous parrots of Tasmania.
apivorous eating bees.
autotroph an organism that is able to manufacture its own food from inorganic substances.
autotrophic capable of building up food materials from inorganic matter.
autotrophically (Adv.) AUTOTROPHIC, capable of building up food materials from inorganic matter.
autotrophy the state of being an autotroph, an organism that is able to manufacture its own food from inorganic substances.
auxotroph an auxotrophic strain or individual, i.e. one requiring a specific growth substance beyond the minimum required for normal metabolism.
auxotrophic requiring a specific growth substance beyond the minimum required for normal metabolism.
auxotrophy the state of being auxotrophic, requiring a specific growth substance beyond the minimum required for normal metabolism.
baccivorous eating berries.
bloodsucker an animal that sucks blood.
carnivora an order of flesh-eating mammals, including dogs, cats, bears, weasels, etc.
carnivore an animal or plant that feeds on flesh.
carnivorous feeding on animal tissues.
carnivorously (Adv.) CARNIVOROUS, feeding on animal tissues.
carnivorousness the state of being carnivorous.
carnivory the state of being a carnivore.
chemautotroph an organism, such as a bacterium, that obtains its energy from inorganic reactions using simple compounds, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.
chemautotrophic of or like a chemautotroph.
coprophagic eating dung.
coprophagist an eater of dung.
coprophagous eating dung.
creophagous flesh-eating, carnivorous.
detritovore an organism that feeds on detritus.
fructivorous feeding on fruit.
frugivore an animal which primarily eats fruit.
frugivorous eating fruit.
fucivorous eating fruit.
graminivorous feeding on grass or cereals.
granivore an eater of grain.
granivorous feeding on seeds.
haematophagous of certain animals, feeding on blood.
hematophagous of certain animals, feeding on blood.
herbivora an extensive division of Mammalia, comprising animals that feed almost exclusively upon vegetation.
herbivore an organism that eats plants or other autotrophic organisms.
herbivorous eating plants.
herbivorously (Adv.) HERBIVOROUS, eating plants.
herbivory the eating of grass.
heterotroph a secondary feeder eating plants or other animals.
heterotrophic dependent on external sources of organic nutrients.
heterotrophy the state of being a heterotroph, a secondary feeder eating plants or other animals.
holozoic obtaining food by eating complex matter, in the manner of an animal.
ingestion the act of taking eg food into the body.
ingestive relating to ingestion, the act of taking eg food into the body.
insectivore an animal that eats insects.
insectivorous eating insects.
lignivorous feeding on wood.
limivorous feeding on mud.
lithophagous stone-swallowing; rock-boring; eating rock.
megaherbivore a large plant-eater.
meliphagous feeding upon honey.
melliphagous feeding upon honey.
mellivorous honey-eating.
merdivorous dung-eating.
monophagous feeding on only one type of food.
mycetophagous eating fungi.
mycophagous eating fungus.
myristicivorous feeding upon nutmegs.
myrmecophagous feeding on ants.
necrophagous feeding on the dead.
nectarivorous eating nectar.
nucivorous nut-eating.
nutrient any nourishing substance.
oligophagous eating only a few specific kinds of food.
omnivora omnivores as a group.
omnivore an omnivorous person or animal.
omnivorous feeding on all kinds of food.
omnivorously (Adv.) OMNIVOROUS.
omnivory omnivorousness.
omophagous eating raw flesh.
ophiophagous eating snakes.
ossivorous feeding on bones.
ostreophagous oyster-eating.
pantophagist an omnivore.
pantophagous eating or requiring a variety of foods.
photoautotroph an organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances using light as an energy source.
phyllophagous leaf-eating.
phytophagic feeding on plants.
phytophagous feeding on plants.
phytophagy of insects, feeding on plants.
piscivore an eater of fish.
piscivorous fish-eating.
polyphagous eating many types of food.
polytrophic esp. of bacteria, obtaining food from several different organic sources.
predaceous living by prey; predatory.
predaceousness the state of being predaceous.
predaciousness the state of being predacious.
predacity being predacious, living by prey.
predatism the state of preying on other animals.
predative relating to predation.
predator an animal that preys on another.
predatorily (Adv.) PREDATORY, preying on other animals.
prototrophic of bacteria, feeding directly on uncombined elements.
prototrophy the state of being prototrophic.
radicivorous eating roots.
ranivorous eating frogs.
rhizophagous feeding on roots.
sanguinivorous drinking blood.
sanguivorous drinking blood.
saprophagous feeding on decaying material.
saprozoic feeding on dead or decaying organic material.
sarcophagous feeding on flesh; carnivorous.
scatophagous habitually feeding on dung, coprophagous.
stenophagous of animals, feeding on a single type or limited variety of food.
toxicophagous eating poison.
toxiphagous eating poison.
trophallactic relating to trophallaxis, mutual exchange of nutriment in symbiosis.
trophallaxis mutual exchange of nutriment in symbiosis.
trophic relating to nutrition.
trophically (Adv.) TROPHIC, relating to nutrition.
trophobiosis exchange of nutriment in symbiotic relationship.
trophotactic relating to trophotaxis, chemotaxis and chemotropism where the stimulating substance is food.
trophotaxis chemotaxis and chemotropism where the stimulating substance is food.
vermivorous eating worms.
xylophagous wood-eating.
zoophagan an animal that feeds on animal food.
zoophagous feeding on animals.
zootrophic of or pertaining to the nourishment of animals.
zootrophy the feeding of animals.