What do you call the eating of frogs?

Question

"Herpivory"? "Ranophagy"? Hurry, I need to mock a French friend.

The OALD says that Frog is an offensive word for French people... Why eating a frog? — Alenanno, May 10 '11 at 23:33
mocking is against the rules here!! (only joking =) have fun!) — l0Ft, May 11 '11 at 05:31

Alain Pannetier Φ · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-10T23:58:25.297

16

I guess I should know !!!

You could create some neologism such as
- amphibiophagy ( ἀμφίβιος => both lives + φαγεῖν => to eat)
- batrachiophagy ( βάτραχος => frog + φαγεῖν => to eat)
- anuraphagy ( αν => without + ουρά => tail + φαγεῖν => to eat) credits @Malvolio.

edited May 10 '11 at 23:58

answered May 10 '11 at 23:35

Alain Pannetier Φ

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anuraphagy? – Michael Lorton May 10 '11 at 23:42
@Malvolio, yes this is nice as well. – Alain Pannetier Φ May 10 '11 at 23:50
@Malvolio, I stole it from you and added it in the answer ;-) – Alain Pannetier Φ May 10 '11 at 23:59
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If you'll only eat true frogs, you're a batrachiophage; if you'll down a toad or two as well, you're an anuraphage; if you'll even dine upon newts and salanders, you're an amphibiophage. Bon appetit. – Michael Lorton May 11 '11 at 01:31
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+1 for batrachiophagy, as in "βατραχομυομαχία". But are you certain about the translitteration of χ with “chi” even if it's followed by “o”? I'd go with batraco-, but I'm not an expert. – Agos May 11 '11 at 08:46
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@Agos: if it's coined in a classical manner from the Greek roots it should be batrachophagy. But since the form of "batrach-" most familiar to people is the family name Batrachia, "batrachiophagy" is a natural coinage. – Colin Fine May 11 '11 at 11:36

FumbleFingers · Answer 2 · 2011-05-10T23:42:40.560

4

I guess that would be a ranaphagy, from family Ranidae (true frogs), most of the edible ones being genus Rana.

I think calling him a ranophage sounds better though.

Here's a link mentioning edibility of a couple of species. It ain't just the Frogs wot eat frogs. Apparently them damned Yankees eat even more! (or maybe I should say 'damned Confederacy Southerners')

edited May 10 '11 at 23:42

answered May 10 '11 at 23:35

FumbleFingers

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rana is a Latin word, phagy comes from Greek. I tried not to mix up. – Alain Pannetier Φ May 10 '11 at 23:49
@Alain Pannetier: If I'm to be criticised, at least I'll know it was from an expert! I didn't even know (or check). But I seem to recall that such lexical chimeras are not without precedent. Anyway, just to drive home the advantage, I'll also mention that the question is tongue-in-cheek to start with. Besides, if @Malvolio's French pal posts here asking how to answer the taunt, you'll be a shoo-in Top Answer for a withering riposte! – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 00:04
@FumbleFingers, I was miles away of intending to be rude. I hope it is clearer now. And you're right, there are chimeras like this. In this kind of situation it is always possible to say rana-vore and you're consistent ! – Alain Pannetier Φ May 11 '11 at 00:14
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@Alain Pannetier: I hope I've noticed you enough on EL&U to know you're unlikely to be rude. I on the other hand am prone to appear so, unintentionally. And sometimes I actually do get tetchy. I suppose ranavore really should be the definitive answer. But -phage to me suggests more primitive life-forms like bacteriophages, whereas even humans are omnivores. If you're gonna insult the guy, talk him right down the food chain! – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 00:26
@FumbleFingers -- My French friend started it! Specifically, I had written "Bon nuit, mon fille." and she corrected it to "Bonne nuit, ma fille" and added some choice remarks about "you anglophones and your lack of gender-specific articles." Which I think should strike close to home for everyone here (except maybe Alain). – Michael Lorton May 11 '11 at 01:21
@Malvolio: Sacre bleu! Lack of adequate gender indicators in our degenerate excuse for a language led me to assume your friend was a 'bullfrog'. For God's sake don't tell her I'm now thinking 'cow-frog'! – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 03:03
While mixing greek and latin is not a great idea, there is at least one such word that caught on without problems: television. – Agos May 11 '11 at 08:48
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@Agos: not to mention 'automobile'. – Colin Fine May 11 '11 at 11:37
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@Colin Fine: I think cars are really Erinacevores (hedgehog eaters). But that's only because I don't know of a Latin suffix for "flattener". – FumbleFingers May 11 '11 at 14:12
@FumbleFingers -- platysficere perhaps? – Michael Lorton May 13 '11 at 16:09

What do you call the eating of frogs?

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