The prefix «phico-» derives from the Greek «phýkos» (φύκος), which means seaweed, and «gastronomy», which refers to the «study of the laws of the stomach». Thus, we can concluded that «ficogastronomy» is the art of preparing and cooking seaweed in the most appropriate way, i.e. taking advantage of its nutritional and organoleptic properties.

It is estimated that there are between thirthy thousand and 1 million species of seweed in the world, however, only a small portion of these are edible (ca. 200), of which 145 are used directly in culinary preparations.