onychophagist

/ɒnɪˈkɒfəd͡ʒɪst/

onychophagist means A person who bites his or her fingernails.

onychophagist is pronounced /ɒnɪˈkɒfəd͡ʒɪst/.

Etymology

From onychophagy + -ist = onycho- + -phag(y) + -ist, from Ancient Greek ὀνυχο- (onuch), combining form of ὄνυξ (ónux, “claw, nail”) + -φαγος (-phagos, “eater”), from ἐφαγόν (ephagón, “I ate”).

noun

A person who bites his or her fingernails.

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

bibliophagist 60% match — A bibliophage; one who loves to read books. vs onychophagist →
keratophagous 59% match — That feeds on hair, nails and similar hard tissue vs onychophagist →
autophage 59% match — One who or that which eats itself. vs onychophagist →
keratophagy 58% match — The condition of being keratophagous vs onychophagist →
cheilophagia 57% match — Excessive biting of the lips. vs onychophagist →
creophage 57% match — A carnivore; especially, a human who is a carnivore. vs onychophagist →
mycophagist 57% match — A person who eats fungi. vs onychophagist →
anthropophaginian 57% match — One who eats human flesh. vs onychophagist →