Learn English – Word for eating things that aren’t food

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Is there a word for trying to eat things that aren't food?

I'm thinking particularly in the context of babies, where it's a normal part of the learning process, but I dare say it is a disorder that can occur later in life too.

My own punt at a word was panphagia, but that turned out to be a dinosaur…

Best Answer

pica from Oxford Dictionaries Online

[MASS NOUN] Medicine

A tendency or craving to eat substances other than normal food (such as clay, plaster, or ashes), occurring during childhood or pregnancy, or as a symptom of disease:

  • This tendency was aggravated by apparent pica (an abnormal craving) that prompted him at various times to inhale the terpene camphor and to ingest other products containing terpenes, namely his oil paints and turpentine.

  • Some pregnant women, for example, have stopped eating nonfood items after they were treated for iron deficiency anemia, a common condition among pregnant women with pica.

  • Rarely, a person with iron-deficiency anemia may experience pica, a craving to eat nonfood items such as paint chips, chalk, or dirt.

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