What does coprophagy mean?
Coprophagy is the eating of faeces or excrement, a term drawn from zoology and veterinary medicine rather than everyday conversation. In many animals the behaviour is entirely natural and even vital: rabbits and other lagomorphs practise a form of coprophagy in which they re-ingest special soft droppings called cecotropes to extract vitamins and nutrients produced by gut microbes during digestion. In other species, such as dogs, coprophagy may be considered undesirable or abnormal, though it is often benign. The word derives from Greek roots meaning 'dung' and 'to eat', and it appears in related forms such as 'coprophagous' (describing animals that feed on dung) and the variant spelling 'coprophagia'. While precise and scientific in register, coprophagy is memorable for describing a behaviour that seems repulsive to humans yet serves an important biological purpose across much of the animal kingdom.
nounThe eating of faeces or excrement; a feeding behaviour in which an animal consumes its own or another animal's dung.
- The eating of faeces or dung by animals, whether as normal behaviour (as in rabbits) or as abnormal behaviour (as in dogs).
"Rabbits practise coprophagy, re-ingesting soft pellets to extract nutrients from their food."
"Coprophagy is essential to the rabbit's digestive process, allowing a second pass through the nutrient-rich cecotropes."
"Veterinarians often field questions from concerned owners about coprophagy in puppies, which is usually harmless and outgrown."
Rarely pluralised; the singular is almost always used even when discussing multiple instances or species, so avoid the plural unless referring literally to distinct instances.
"The study compared coprophagies observed across several rodent species."
Rabbits eat their own droppings on purpose — and without it they'd starve: coprophagy lets them absorb vitamins their gut missed the first time around.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coprophagy
Coprophagy comes from the Greek elements kopros ('dung') and phagein ('to eat'), joined in the modern scientific form used in zoology. It belongs to a family of '-phagy' terms borrowed from Greek to name specialised feeding behaviours, alongside words such as saprophagy (feeding on decaying matter) and the broader suffix -phage/-phagy used throughout biology. Cognates sharing the kopros root include coprology, coprolite, and coprophilous fungi.
Related word forms
How coprophagy is actually used
A technical term used chiefly in zoology, veterinary medicine, and biology. In everyday contexts about pets, the informal phrase 'eating poop' is more common. The variant spelling 'coprophagia' is widely used, especially in American veterinary literature.
Easily confused with coprophagy
Coprophagy is the eating of faeces, whereas coprophilia is sexual arousal from or attraction to faeces.
Coprophagy is the consumption of faeces, whereas coprophobia is an intense fear or aversion to them.