Herbivore
/ˈhɜːr.bɪ.vɔːr/noun
An animal that feeds on plants.
Did you know?The word was coined in modern scientific Latin from Latin herba (“grass, herb”) + vorare (“to devour”), so it literally frames plant-eating as a kind of devouring.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷerh₃-
“to consume, devour”
Latin
Latin
vorāre
“to devour, gulp down”
Latin
Latin
herba
“grass, herb, green plant”
Late Latin / Scientific Latin
Latin
herbivorus
“plant-eating”
19th Century
English
herbivore
“a plant-eating animal”
Modern English
English
herbivore
“an animal that feeds on plants”