bibliophage

[ bib-lee-uh-feyj ]
/ ˈbɪb li əˌfeɪdʒ /

noun

an ardent reader; a bookworm.

Origin of bibliophage

OTHER WORDS FROM bibliophage

bib·li·oph·a·gous [bib-lee-of-uh-guh s] /ˌbɪb liˈɒf ə gəs/, bib·li·o·phag·ic [bib-lee-uh-faj-ik, -fey-jik] /ˌbɪb li əˈfædʒ ɪk, -ˈfeɪ dʒɪk/, adjective

VOCAB BUILDER

What does bibliophage mean?

A bibliophage is a person who reads all the time; a bookworm.

Bibliophage is a very rarely used word, unlike the commonly used bookworm. But with their extensive vocabularies, bibliophages probably know it.

Example: Michelle is a real bibliophage—she spends every second of her free time reading books.

Where does bibliophage come from?

The word bibliophage has been in use at least since the 1830s. It is formed from the Greek root biblio-, meaning “book” (as in bibliography), and -phage, meaning “thing that devours” (from the Greek phageîn, meaning “to eat”). This ending is often used literally, as in words like macrophage (a white blood cell that ingests microorganisms). Very rarely, the word bibliophage has been used to refer to a bug that literally eats the pages of books. (The term bookworm can also refer to a type of insect that feeds on books, especially their binding paste, such as the booklouse.)

But bibliophage is pretty much always used figuratively: a person who devours books—meaning they read them one after another. A bibliophage is a bibliophile (someone who loves books), but they don’t just love them, they feast on them. If you have a bibliophage in your life, you know they probably don’t go anywhere without a book—or several. When you ask them what they’ve been reading, they’ll list one book after another (you probably don’t need to ask—they’ll just tell you). Their bookcase is beyond full, and they have a stack of books they haven’t read yet, but that won’t stop them from acquiring more. When it comes to reading, a bibliophage is prolific.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of bibliophage?

What are some synonyms for bibliophage?

What are some words that share a root or word element with bibliophage

 

How is bibliophage used in real life?

Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s probably bibliophages who are most likely to use the word bibliophage, especially when talking about how they feel about reading and books.

 

 

Try using bibliophage!

Which of the following words is a synonym for bibliophage?

A. bibliophile
B. book lover
C. bookworm
D. all of the above

Example sentences from the Web for bibliophage

  • Bibliophage, or bibliophagist, a book-eater, or devourer of books.

    A Book for All Readers |Ainsworth Rand Spofford