Is there a word that means 'baby eater'? Something like infantovore?
It's for an appeal to the absurd in a philosophy essay.
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1I think it's kinderchomper. – bib Aug 8 '15 at 2:15
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According to Jonathan Swift, "American" would fit. – Hot Licks Aug 8 '15 at 2:25
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3Most educated readers would find "infantivore" understandable; a "paedophage" not quite as much. – hemflit Aug 8 '15 at 2:56
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1@hemflit Especially infantivore is good; it is properly formed and semantically appropriate. Paedophage is nice and properly formed, but it means "child-eater". +1 – Cerberus_Reinstate_Monica Aug 8 '15 at 3:07
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@hemflit 'Infantivore' gets my vote too, as being much more likely to be understood compared to, say, 'morophage'. If your audience was German, I suppose 'kindlifresser' would work. – JEL Aug 8 '15 at 3:34
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If you wish to remain within the realm of already coined expressions, you might try the present participle on for size, "the baby-eating monster" or "the infant-eating troll".
On the other hand coining new expressions can be fun also. If you are unsure whether your audience might object, put it in quotes, the first time you use it: "Many so called 'infantivores' suffer from indigestion"
Bon appétit!
infanticide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infanticide_%28zoology%29 seems more appropriate unless you want to go for name calling.
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3@alpa, 'infanticide' denotes an act, 'baby eater' denotes a thing. All baby eaters perpetrate infanticide, but not all people who perpetrate infanticide are baby eaters. – Hal Aug 8 '15 at 4:38
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1@Hal The only baby eaters who perpetrate infanticide are the those who kill what they eat. I would never kill a baby. – deadrat Aug 8 '15 at 8:24
