necrophagia

1 9.9

Eating dead animals, often by birds or insects

noun
/ˌnɛkrəˈfeɪdʒə/

NSFW

: necrofagia

Certain insects exhibit necrophagia, laying their eggs in decaying corpses to provide nourishment for their larvae.

Examples

The act of necrophagia is often witnessed in the wild, where animals consume carrion to sustain themselves.
The stories told in the capital and in the neighboring cities were astounding: rites of cannibalism and necrophagia; children murdered and shot with arrows to serve as the meal at diabolical dinners.

Academic text (1997)
In the natural world, necrophagia is essential for the ecosystem as scavengers like vultures feed on dead animals to prevent the spread of disease.

Synonyms

necrophagy

vsnecrophagia

NSFW

9.9

Eating dead animals for food

is the identical action but expressed as an alternative form

Surface Forms

necrophagia singular

necrophagias plural

Morphology

necrophagia = necrophagy (semi-transparent) = necro + phag + ia

Formed from Greek combining elements meaning 'dead' + 'eat'; the composition is clear in technical/medical terms but the elements are not everyday English morphemes for most learners.

Etymology

The word necrophagia comes from Greek parts necro- 'dead' and -phagia 'eating'. So, it literally means 'eating the dead' and is used for animals or insects that feed on dead bodies.