detritivore

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
15
Words With Friends
16
Letters
11
Pronunciation
/dɛˈtɹaɪtɪvɔː/
See all 4 pronunciations
/dɛˈtɹaɪtɪvɔː/ · /-ˈtɹɪ-/ · /dəˈtɹaɪtəvɔɹ/ · /-ɾə-/

Definition of detritivore

1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. An organism that feeds on detritus.
    “Termites are herbivores and detritivores variously involved in the comminution and decomposition of vegetable matter, through most of the warm temperate and tropical zones.”
    “If one has sound data for microbial biomass dynamics in decaying litter, along with identities of the decomposer fungi, then one can make useful projections and hypotheses regarding nutrient flow, environmental controls on decay rates, and potential detritivore production founded upon basic knowledge of the properties of fungal species and their interactions with other microbes and animals[…].”
    “Fish are represented at several trophic levels in aquatic systems, from detritivore and herbivore to carnivore.”
    “Others are detritivores (i.e. they feed off organic detritus), such as some pteropods.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From German Detritivore, from Latin dētrītus (“the act of rubbing away”) (from dēterō (“to rub away, to rub off, to wear out”), from dē- (“away; down”) + terō (“to rub;…

See full etymology

From German Detritivore, from Latin dētrītus (“the act of rubbing away”) (from dēterō (“to rub away, to rub off, to wear out”), from dē- (“away; down”) + terō (“to rub; to wear away, to wear out”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, to rub by twisting; to twist, to turn”)) + Latin vorāre (from vorō (“to devour, to eat greedily; to swallow up”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour”)). Analyzable as detritus + -i- + -vore.

Words you can make from detritivore

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Best play overtired 13 points

8-letter words

9 words

7-letter words

18 words

6-letter words

52 words

5-letter words

51 words

4-letter words

62 words

3-letter words

7 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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