phage

[feyj]

noun

Origin of phage

by shortening, or independent use of -phage

-phage

a combining form meaning “a thing that devours,” used in the formation of compound words, especially the names of phagocytes: macrophage.

Also -phag.

Compare phago-, -phagous, -phagy.

Origin of -phage

noun use of Greek -phagos -phagous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for phage

phage

noun

short for bacteriophage

-phage

n combining form

indicating something that eats or consumes something specifiedbacteriophage

Derived Forms-phagous, adj combining form

Word Origin for -phage

from Greek -phagos; see phago-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for phage

virus that destroys bacteria, 1917, an abbreviated form of bacteriophage.

-phage

word-forming element meaning "eater," from stem of Greek phagein "to eat" (see -phagous).

phage in Medicine

phage

[fāj]

n.

bacteriophage

-phage

suff.

One that eats:macrophage.