Word.ws English Dictionary

physogastry

physogastry noun: an enlargement of the abdomen in certain insects, especially in termite queens.

physogastry: an enlargement of the abdomen in certain insects, especially in termite queens
Image: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

physogastry (uncountable)

  1. An enlargement of the abdomen in certain insects, especially in termite queens.
    • One of the most bizarre modifications of the beetle abdomen is known as physogastry. Physogastry is a condition in which the abdomen is enlarged. usually through increased growth of the connective membranes, expansion of the internal fat bodies, and subsequent secondary sclerotization of the...2000, Arthur V. Evans, An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles, page 64
    • The development of queen physogastry is considered to mark the end of the founding stage. It is often difficult to determine the time required for a queen to become physogastric in termite colonies.2014, Y. Abe, Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology, page 337

Examples of physogastry in a sentence

  • One of the most bizarre modifications of the beetle abdomen is known as physogastry.2000, Arthur V. Evans, An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles, page 64:
  • The most striking characteristic of many termitophiles is physogastry, or the excessive enlargement of the abdomen, which closely resembles that of the hosts and especially that of the old queens.2015, William Morton Wheeler, The Social Insects: Their Origin and Evolution, page 266:

Origin of physogastry

From physo- + Ancient Greek γαστήρ (gastḗr, “belly”) + -y.

Questions about physogastry

What does physogastry mean?
Physogastry means an enlargement of the abdomen in certain insects, especially in termite queens.
How do you use physogastry in a sentence?
One of the most bizarre modifications of the beetle abdomen is known as physogastry.
What part of speech is physogastry?
Physogastry is a noun.

Words near physogastry in the dictionary

  1. physodes
  2. physodic acid
  3. physodine
  4. physog
  5. physogastric
  6. physogastry
  7. physograde
  8. physogrades
  9. physogs
  10. physometra
  11. physonect

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: physogastry (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “physogastry.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/physogastry. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.