Myrmecophagy
/ˌmɜːr.məˈkɒf.ə.dʒi/noun
The practice or habit of eating ants.
Did you know?Myrmecophagy is a real biological term, and its root myrmex also lives on in the word myrmidon, the legendary warrior name that may have been linked in ancient imagination to ants.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*morwi- / *morwi-k-
“A proposed ancient root behind Greek words for ants, though the exact pre-Greek history is uncertain.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
μύρμηξ (mýrmeks)
“Ant.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-φαγία (-phagía)
“Eating, devouring.”
Modern Scientific Latin
Latin
myrmecophagia
“Ant-eating; feeding on ants.”
Modern English
English
myrmecophagy
“The habit or practice of eating ants.”