'anthropophagic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'anthrōpophagos' (from 'ánthrōpos' meaning 'human' + 'phagein' meaning 'to eat'), with the English adjective-forming suffix '-ic'.

'anthropophagic' changed from the Greek word 'anthrōpophagos' into Latin 'anthropophagus' and Medieval Latin forms, and eventually entered English as the adjective 'anthropophagic' with the addition of '-ic'.

Initially it referred to 'a person who eats humans' (i.e., a 'cannibal'), but over time it evolved into the adjective meaning 'relating to cannibalism' or 'cannibalistic'.