"destruction of microbes by phagocytes," 1891, from phagocyte + -osis.
Entries linking to phagocytosis
phagocyte n.
"white blood cell," regarded as an organism capable of devouring what it meets, 1884, from German phagocyten (plural), coined in German in 1884 by Dr. Elias Metchnikoff (1845-1916) from Greek phago- "eating, devouring" (from PIE root *bhag- "to share out, apportion; to get a share") + -cyte "cell." Related: Phagocytic.
-osis
word-forming element expressing state or condition, in medical terminology denoting "a state of disease," from Latin -osis and directly from Greek -osis, formed from the aorist of verbs ending in -o. It corresponds to Latin -atio.