coprophagy

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱókʷr̥ Proto-Indo-European *ḱókʷ-ro-sder. Ancient Greek κόπρος (kópros) English copro- Ancient Greek ἔφαγον (éphagon) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ίᾱ (-íā) Ancient Greek -φᾰγίᾱ (-phăgíā)lbor. English -phagy English coprophagy From copro- (“excrement”) + -phagy (“to feed on”).

1. The act or an instance of eating feces.

   “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.”

   “Other studies postulate that dogs practice coprophagy in an attempt to conserve digestive enzymes, in particular protelytic enzymes and amylase (McCuistion, 1966).”