/byooh lim"ee euh, -lee"mee euh, booh-, beuh-/ , n.
1. Also called hyperphagia . Pathol. abnormally voracious appetite or unnaturally constant hunger.
2. Also called binge-purge syndrome, bulimia nervosa /nerr voh"seuh/ . Psychiatry. a habitual disturbance in eating behavior mostly affecting young women of normal weight, characterized by frequent episodes of grossly excessive food intake followed by self-induced vomiting to avert weight gain. Cf. anorexia nervosa .
Also, boulimia .
[ 1350-1400; ME boulimía extreme hunger, equiv. to bou- intensive prefix (deriv. of bou-, s. of boûs OX) + lim ( ós ) hunger + -ia -IA ]