English
ichthyophage
Ichthyophage comes from Ancient Greek ἰχθυοφάγος ‘fish-eating’, and goes back to ῐ̓χθῡ́ς.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῐ̓χθῡ́ς‘fish’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰχθυοφάγοςikhthuophágos‘fish-eating’
- Englishtodayichthyophage
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῐ̓χθῡ́ς‘fish’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰχθυοφάγοςikhthuophágos‘fish-eating’
- Englishtodayichthyophage
Formed from ichthyo ‘fish’ + phage ‘eater’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- ‘to eat’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁édti ‘to eat’
Proto-Hellenic *édō ‘to eat’
Ancient Greek ἔδω ‘to eat, consume’
English phage
The story
From the Ancient Greek ἰχθυοφάγος (ikhthuophágos, “fish-eating”), and substantivised as a plurale tantum proper noun: “the Fish-eaters, the Ichthyophagi”; reinforced in the general sense (‘that which consumes fish’) by the English ichthyo- (‘fish’) + -phage (‘eater’).
Every English word from Ancient Greek ῐ̓χθῡ́ς
Today it means
noun That which consumes fish; any fish-eating thing or (more rarely) person.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ῐ̓χθῡ́ς / ichthyophage