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So, the past of the verb "τρώω" is "έφαγα"... Wow, what a change! It totally looks like a new verb!
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What's more interesting is that the past tense sounds more intuitive. Think about Phagocytosis (if you remember you biology classes), as the process that happens when a cell engulfs and eats another microorganism. I'd be curious to know the etymology of τρώω.
Τρώω comes from the ancient verb "τρώγω" (which is also a rare form of the verb in Modern Greek). The φαγ- stem comes from another ancient verb, εσθίω (that formed past simple as έ-φαγ-ον/ it was irregular, too) which merged with τρώ(γ)ω (which was regular back then) and replaced the "aorist" tenses (that is, the tenses that show an one-time action). So the verb τρώω has come to use the stem τρω(γ)- for continuous tenses and the stem φα(γ)- for the "aorist" tenses. Φαγοκυττάρωση (eat+cell)/Φαγοκύτωση (eat+cavity) can be understood by a Greek who looks closely at the word without many problems, especially the first one, as the stems are obvious.
It is and will be accepted as correct if used. thnak you .
