The practice or condition of eating one's own flesh or tissue, either literally or as a medical/biological process.
Greek 'auto-' (self) + 'phagia' (eating condition), from 'phagein' (to eat). Clinically documented in rare psychological conditions and naturally occurring in cellular biology.
While the idea sounds disturbing, autophagia at the cellular level is actually brilliant survival engineering—starving cells cannibalize their own organelles to make energy. It's self-preservation at the microscopic level!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.