arsenicophagy

A1R1S1E1N1I1C3O1P3H4A1G2Y4

noun

The eating of arsenic, formerly practiced for supposed health benefits.

OriginAncient Greek ἔφᾰγον (éphăgon) ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂g- ← English arsenic →
Scrabble 24
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Meanings

nounarsenicophagy (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe eating of arsenic, formerly practiced for supposed health benefits.

    She took up arsenicophagy, and in just a few months, 'had become stout, rosy-cheeked, and altogether quite to her lover's satisfaction'.

    2010, James C. Whorton, The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play, OUP
    1 more example

    M. Ritter adds that in his experiments with men, he never met with the coloring and embonpoint which are said to result from arsenicophagy.

    1873, Chandler and Chandler, The American Chemist, page 204

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰelh₃-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰl̥h₃enyom
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranian*ȷ́ʰr̥Hanyam
  4. Proto-Iranian*jr̥Hanyam
  5. Old Median*zaranyam
  6. Old Median*kā
  7. Old Median*zaraniyakā
  8. Middle Persian*zarnīk
  9. Classical Syriacܙܪܢܝܟܐ (zarnīḵā)
  10. Arabicالزَرْنِيخ (az-zarnīḵ)
  11. Medieval Greekἀρσενικόν (arsenikón)
  12. Latinarsenicum
  13. Middle Frencharsenic
  14. Middle Englisharsenik
  15. Englisharsenic
  16. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂g-
  17. Proto-Indo-European*bʰh₂g-
  18. Ancient Greekἔφᾰγον (éphăgon)
  19. Englisharsenicophagy

From arsenic + -o- + -phagy.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

arsenicophagy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arsenicophagy

MLA

“arsenicophagy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arsenicophagy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arsenicophagy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arsenicophagy.

Source: arsenicophagy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.