"animal that feeds on dung," by 1890, earlier in French, from Greek stem skat- "dung" (see scatology) + -phage "eater." Related: Scatophagous.
Entries linking to scatophage
scatology n.
"obscene literature," 1876, with -logy "treatise, study" + Greek skat-, stem of skōr (genitive skatos) "excrement," from PIE *sker- "excrement, dung" (source also of Latin stercus "dung"), on the notion of "to cut off;" see shear (v.), and compare shit (v.). Late 19c. dictionaries also give it a sense of "science of fossil excrement." Related: Scatological (1886).
-phage
word-forming element meaning "eater," from stem of Greek phagein "to eat," from PIE root *bhag- "to share out, apportion; to get a share."