phage

¹

[feyj]

noun

1. bacteriophage.

-phage

²

Also -phag.

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

   macrophage.

-phage

¹

combining form

1. indicating something that eats or consumes something specified

   bacteriophage

phage

²

/ feɪdʒ /

noun

1. short for bacteriophage

Other Word Forms

• -phagous combining form

Word History and Origins

Origin of -phage¹

By shortening, or independent use of -phage

Origin of -phage²

Noun use of Greek -phagos -phagous

Word History and Origins

Origin of -phage¹

from Greek -phagos; see _phago-

Example Sentences

"They were a bit dirty when I received them," phage scientist Michelle Lin tells me as we don our blue lab-coats and matching gloves to go into the Containment Level 2 microbiology laboratory.

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And phage viruses, which are viruses that infect bacteria, rather than humans, can protect us by directly attacking bacterial villains.

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The group's previous work includes creating a portable testing library to match phages to otherwise untreatable antibiotic-resistant infections, a contamination test incorporated into food packaging, and a temperature-stable storage system for live vaccines.

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With the rapid development of antibiotics in the 1930s, phage therapy -- using viruses known as bacteriophages or phages to tackle bacterial infections -- fell into oblivion.

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Unlike commercial antibiotics, phages evolve alongside their bacterial hosts, dodging and parrying the bacterial response so that for every pathogen, there’s likely a bacteriophage, somewhere, that eats it.

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When To Use

What does -phage mean?

The combining form -phage is used like a suffix meaning “a thing that devours.” It is used in many scientific terms, especially in biology.The form -phage ultimately comes from the Greek phageîn, meaning “to eat, devour.” This Greek root also helps form the word esophagus. Discover the connection at our entry for the word. The word phage, referring to a bacteriophage, is a shortened or independent use of the combining form -phageClosely related to -phage are -phagia, -phagy, and -phagous. Their corresponding form combined to the beginning of words is phago-. Learn more about their specific applications at our Words That Use articles for the forms.