bibliophage

English

Etymology

From biblio- +‎ -phage, from Ancient Greek βῐ́βλος (bíblos, “book”) and φαγεῖν (phageîn, “to eat”).

Noun

bibliophage (plural bibliophages)

1. (figuratively) A person who loves to read books; a bookworm.

   Janet loved reading. She was a real bibliophage.

2. A creature that consumes books’ physical contents.
   • 1887, James Rodway in Timehri; Volume I, page #306:

     Once inside, they begin to mine; there may be apparently nothing wrong outside, but when you open the book you find a hollow filled with insects, which have eaten almost all the letterpress, up to the margins. By keeping the shelves away from the walls and giving a little attention to wormy volumes, the Library may be easily freed from this kind of Bibliophage.

Related terms

• bibliophagy

Translations

person who loves books — see bookworm

creature that consumes books

• Portuguese: bibliófago (pt) m
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