autophagous

\(ˈ)ȯ|täfəgəs\ adjective

Etymology: Greek autophagos, from aut- + -phagos -phagous

: self-devouring

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autophagous /ö-toˈfə-gəs/

adjective

1. Self-devouring

2. (of a bird) capable of feeding itself from the moment of hatching

ORIGIN: Gr autos self, and phagein to eat

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autophāˈgia or autophagy /-ə-ji/ noun

1. Sustenance by self-absorption of the tissues of the body, eg during starvation (medicine)

2. In a lysosome, the intracellular digestion of material of the cell (biochemistry)

3. Eating or biting of part of one's own body (psychiatry)

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autophagous Med.

(ɔːˈtɒfəgəs)

[f. Gr. αὐτοϕάγ-ος (f. αὐτο- self + ϕαγ-εῖν to eat) + -ous.]

Self-devouring. autophagy (ɔːˈtɒfədʒɪ) [cf. F. autophagie], the feeding upon oneself, sustenance of life during the process of starvation by absorption of the tissues of the body.

in Syd. Soc. Lex.