metatrophic

[ met-uh-trof-ik, -troh-fik ]

adjective

1. requiring dead organic matter for food.

Other Words From

• met·a·troph [met, -, uh, -trof, -trawf], noun
• me·tat·ro·phy [m, uh, -, ta, -tr, uh, -fee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of metatrophic¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; meta- + trophic

Example Sentences

It is very probable that anarobes, exclusive of a few nitrogen absorbers, are metatrophic for all the elements they utilize.

From Project Gutenberg