Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

phage

/feɪd͡ʒ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.66 in modern English

Syllables: phage
IPA: /feɪd͡ʒ/

11

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A virus that is parasitic on bacteria.

Example Sentences

""The plural word phages refers to different types of phage, whereas in common usage the word phage can be both singular and plural, referring in the plural sense to particles of the same type of phage." Maloy et al: Microbial Genetics, 2nd ed., 1984, →ISBN, p. 81"

Etymology

Clipping of bacteriophage from bacterio- (“bacteria”) + -phage (“eater”); latter suffix from Ancient Greek -φάγος (-phágos, “eater”), from φαγ- (phag-), aorist stem of ἐσθίω (esthíō) or ἔδω (édō, “to eat, to consume”). Stem φαγ- (phag-) may also derive from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- (“to divide, distribute”) thus ultimately doublet of bhakti (via Sanskrit भक्ति (bhakti, “portion, division”) from root भज् (bhaj, “to divide, to apportion”)).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: -φάγος

Inflected Forms

phages (plural)

Derived Forms

antiphage campylophage endophage enterophage erythrophage exophage fluorophage megaphage multiphage myophage nonphage pelagiphage

Phrases

phage therapy

Frequently Paired Words

virophage

Synonyms

bacteriophage

Homonyms

-phage

Rhymes With

age under-age page stage wage engage cage rage gauge sage backstage paige

Questions

How do you pronounce phage?: The recorded pronunciation is /feɪd͡ʒ/.
What does phage mean?: A virus that is parasitic on bacteria.
Where does phage come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce phage

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “phage”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/feɪd͡ʒ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “phage”.
Repeat and practice — Say “phage” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.