detritivore
/dəˈtɹaɪtəvɔɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "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."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /dəˈtɹaɪtəvɔɹ/
- British English: /dɛˈtɹaɪtɪvɔː/