[1820–30; copro- + -phagous]This word is first recorded in the period 1820–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: analogue, boomerang, myth, phonetic, takeoffcopro- is a combining form meaning “dung,” used in the formation of compound words. Otherwords that use the affix copro- include: coprolalia, coprolite, coprology, coprophobia; -phagous is a combining form meaning “eating,” “feeding on,” “devouring” the thing specifiedby the initial element. Other words that use the affix -phagous include: dendrophagous, euryphagous, monophagous, saprophagous, stenophagous