Sarcophagous
/sɑːrˈkɒf.ə.ɡəs/noun
Feeding on flesh.
Did you know?The Greek root behind this word, *sarx* (“flesh”), also gave English the medical and theological term *sarco-* and sits inside *sarcophagus*, originally a “flesh-devouring” coffin stone said to speed decomposition.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*twerk- / *serk-
“A proposed ancestral root behind Greek *sarx* meaning flesh”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σάρξ (sarx)
“Flesh, body tissue”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-φαγος (-phagos)
“Eating, devouring”
Late Greek
Greek
σαρκοφάγος (sarkophagos)
“Flesh-eating; devouring flesh”
Modern English
English
sarcophagous
“Feeding on flesh”
Explore more surprising origins