bacterivory

B3A1C3T1E1R1I1V4O1R1Y4

noun

The ingestion of bacteria as food or as an energy supply

OriginEnglish bacterivore ← Latin vorō ← Proto-Italic *worā →
Scrabble 21
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounbacterivory (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebiologyThe ingestion of bacteria as food or as an energy supply

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekβακτηρία (baktēría)
  2. Ancient Greekβακτήριον (baktḗrion)
  3. New Latinbactēria
  4. Englishbacteria
  5. Proto-Indo-European*gʷerh₃-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*gʷorh₃éh₂
  7. Proto-Italic*worā
  8. Latinvorō
  9. Englishbacterivore
  10. Englishbacterivory

From bacterivore + -y.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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