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Is there a word meaning 'a person who eats meat and/or fish'?

For example a vegan is 'a person who does not eat or use animal products', a vegetarian is 'a person who does not eat meat or fish', and a pescatarian is 'a person who does not eat meat but does eat fish'.

There is 'omnivore', but this seems to go with 'herbivore' and 'carnivore' rather than 'vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian'.

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    omnivore is a perfectly acceptable term for this description, and it is used regularly.
    – Ramon Melo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:08
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    Related question: english.stackexchange.com/questions/117375/…
    – rajah9
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:13
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    Don't militant vegetarians have a derogatory term they use for the rest of us?
    – GEdgar
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:23
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    Yes, but I'd still be interested in a term for the practice, regardless of the cause. This way, when I am yet again offered Taste this fish, I just know you'll love it, I can reply Sorry, I'm an anti-pecatarian - or similar. :)
    – Davo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 13:15
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    "Apopescatarian" - invokes the image of a Papal Scatologist. And I like that!
    – Davo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 17:23

5 Answers 5

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non-vegetarian (noun ) (OxfordDictionaries.com)

A person who is not a vegetarian; a meat-eater.

non-veggie (noun) = non-vegetarian.

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    The irony: you've suggested "non-vegetarian", and the definition has actually used what is, in my opinion, a better term: "meat-eater".
    – AndyT
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 14:32
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You can probably use the prefixed word non-vegetarian:

Vegetarians also frequently stay with non-vegetarian friends, or lodge with others who do not understand how to provide for them.

(source: The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book by Thomas R. Allinson)

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  • So there's not actually a word for it? Is this because it is seen as the norm, and it is expected that people will be non-vegetarian unless otherwise specified?
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:07
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    I think so (but I have no concrete evidence to back it up).
    – Glorfindel
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:10
  • Interesting. Since there's 'straight' for 'non-gay', although 'straight' is sometimes regarded as the default...
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:11
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    @marcellothearcane no, yes, yes. Vegetarianism as a culture (not only as an eating habit) is very young in comparison with the English language, it is natural that its own vocabulary is still being created.
    – Ramon Melo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:12
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    @marcellothearcane also "straight" stemmed from the belief that being gay is a deviant behavior. Since most people don't really associate vegetarianism or non-vegetarianism with moral standards, there wasn't the same urge to invent a word for this meaning.
    – Ramon Melo
    Commented Mar 30, 2017 at 12:17
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How about meat eater?

:a person whose diet includes meat. "if you're a meat eater, make sure you experience one of the steakhouses" [Webster's]

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WordPhD says the hypernyms of vegetarian are:

eater, feeder

If you follow the hyponyms of eater at the same site, you'll get quite a few, including

vegetarian, omnivore

Although the OP discarded omnivore, it would be readily accessible to the hearer as being in the same class of word as vegetarian.

If an animal eats meat but occasionally eats grains or berries, there exists some debate as to whether it is a carnivore or an omnivore.

Urging us to rethink the “dogma” of dogs as omnivores, Dr. Wouter Hendriks of Utrecht University’s veterinary school in the Netherlands laid out a detailed and ultimately convincing argument in favor of canine carnivorous-ness at the Waltham International Nutritional Sciences Symposium in Portland, Ore. citation

While it is never in doubt that dogs eat meat, there is some question as to whether they are carnivores or omnivores.

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Vegetarian has the roots:

vegetare (from Latin) + -arian (Latin -arius, meaning having a concern or belief in a specified thing.)

Pescatarian has the roots:

Piscis (from Latin), which is the root for the Italian, pesce and the -tarian pattern from vegetarian

Considering the Latin for meat is cibum, which forms carnis (think carnivore, carnage, etc) it follows that a meat-eater should be carnitarian, from carnis and the same -tarian pattern from vegetarian and pescatarian. However, this implies a diet exclusively of meat, which is not the desired word. Therefore one should consider:

Omnitarian, from the Latin omnis meaning "all; of all things."

Obviously these seem to follow the pattern of carnivore and omnivore, which already fit this meaning and are therefore redundant. Ultimately there isn't any point in making up omnitarian, and it's highly unlikely to catch on - but still, should someone require it, it does make sense!

Definitions from the Google dictionary, which I believe is from the Oxford.

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    1. Unfortunately omnivore means someone who eats both plants and animals while given its roots it should mean one who eats everything. Perhaps omnitarian could be used to refer to one who eats everything. 2. It wouldn't be "omnitarian", as the suffix to denote "one who practices or believes in something" is not "-tarian" but rather "-arian". When words end in "-tarian" it's because their root word ends in "-ty" (e.g. humanity->humanitarian, authority=>authoritarian). That leaves us with "omniarian" which is just a prefix and a suffix with no root and therefore doesn't work.
    – Patrick
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 4:54
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    Regarding 2, before one starts creating words, a knowledge of Latin and word construction is useful :)
    – Patrick
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 4:55

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