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phage

[feyj]
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noun
  1. bacteriophage.
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Origin of phage

by shortening, or independent use of -phage

-phage

  1. a combining form meaning “a thing that devours,” used in the formation of compound words, especially the names of phagocytes: macrophage.
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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. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for phage

phage

noun
  1. short for bacteriophage
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-phage

n combining form
  1. indicating something that eats or consumes something specifiedbacteriophage
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Derived Forms-phagous, adj combining form

Word Origin

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

n.

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

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-phage

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
phage in Medicine

phage

(fāj)
n.
  1. bacteriophage
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-phage

suff.
  1. One that eats:macrophage.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.