cachexia Africana

noun

A morbid impulse to eat dirt.

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Meanings

nouncachexia Africana (uncountable)
  1. obsoleteuncountableA morbid impulse to eat dirt.

    Cachexia Africana referred to blacks' supposed propensity for eating nonfood substances such as clay, chalk, and dirt.

    2008, Harriet A. Washington, “Southern Discomfort”, in Medical Apartheid, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, page 52

Origin

It was encountered among native Africans.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cachexia Africana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cachexia%20Africana

MLA

“cachexia Africana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cachexia%20Africana. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cachexia Africana,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cachexia%20Africana.

Source: cachexia Africana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.