Medical Suffix
-phagia
eating, swallowing
From Greek phagein, to eat
Meaning
What does -phagia mean?
-phagia is a suffix meaning eating, swallowing. It comes from Greek phagein, to eat.
Don't confuse it with -phasia, speech: dysphagia is trouble swallowing, dysphasia trouble with language.
In real words
Medical words with -phagia
difficulty swallowing
inability to swallow
excessive hunger or eating
Don't mix it up
Parts easily confused with -phagia
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- 1.4 – Suffix – Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e
- Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean
- -phagia - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Practice it
What the body does
-phagia is one of 12 parts in this lesson. Learn them together, then take real words apart.
Start the LessonOr browse every word part