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geophagous

 - 4 dictionary results

ge⋅oph⋅a⋅gy

  [jee-of-uh-jee]
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–noun
the practice of eating earthy matter, esp. clay or chalk, as in famine-stricken areas.
Also, ge⋅o⋅pha⋅gia  [jee-uh-fey-juh, -jee-uh] , ge⋅oph⋅a⋅gism  [jee-of-uh-jiz-uhm] .

Origin:
1840–50; geo- + -phagy

Related forms:
ge⋅oph⋅a⋅gist, noun
ge⋅oph⋅a⋅gous  [jee-of-uh-guhs] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

geophagy 
"dirt-eating," 1850, from Gk. *geophagia (the actual Gk. was geotragia), from geo-, comb. form of ge "earth" + phagein "to eat."
"A diseased appetite ... prevails in several parts of Alabama, where they eat clay. I heard various speculations on the origin of this singular propensity, called 'geophagy' in some medical books." [Lyell, 1850]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ge·oph·a·gy
Pronunciation: -&-jE-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -gies
: a practice of eatingearthy substances (as clay) among primitive or economically depressed peoples to augment a scanty or mineral-deficient diet called also earth eating; —compare PICA
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

geophagy ge·oph·a·gy (jē-ŏf'ə-jē) or ge·oph·a·gism (-jĭz'əm) or ge·o·pha·gia (jē'ə-fā'jə)
n.
The eating of earthy substances, such as clay or chalk, that is practiced as a custom or for dietary or subsistence reasons. Also called dirt-eating.

ge·oph'a·gist n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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