philo-, phil-, -phile, -philia, -philic, -philous, -phily, -philiac, -philist, -philism
(Greek: love, loving, friendly to, fondness for, attraction to; strong tendency toward, affinity for)
These are just a few of the meanings set up for the etymological meanings of philo- which comes to us from Greek.
In biology, there are many words that use philo-, phil- to mean "thriving in such and such a place or situation; or exhibiting a tendency for a specified condition" for its existence.
Other meanings include: "strongly attracted to; such as, an organism that loves or is strongly attracted to something which is specified".
In psychology and psychiatry, -phile, -philia, etc. use this element as a word termination indicating an abnormal craving or attraction to or an affinity for an object as shown by the word stems to which they are affixed.
In psychiatry, an inexact, pseudoscientific term referring to a state of being "oversexed"; Hyperphilia is an extreme sexual desire, and is described as a judgment frequently based on a comparison with the rater's own level of sexual responsiveness.
An organism that thrives best in temperatures of 80 degrees Celsius or higher. A hyperthermophile is a life form that can exist in an extremely hot environment, like in hot springs with a water temperature around the boiling point.
A person who is fond of doctors: Whenever Mrs. Gregory, a iatrophile, had a slight cold, she always went to see her doctor, also because she admired and felt attracted to him.
A fondness for, or an excessive fondness for a physician or for physicians in general: Judy had a real devotion to her doctor, and read later that she had a case of iatrophilia.
The situation of the love for a doctor or for doctors in general: Mary, having a condition of iatrophily, loved doctors because they were always so nice to her, and she decided that she wanted to marry one later when she grew up.
One who has a special fondness or love of fish or fishes: Jack's aquarium at home had many different kinds of fish and he loved watching them swim around. And, as an ichthyophile, he never wanted to eat them because he loved them so much.
A collector of fishing tackles: Since Jack usually went fishing on the weekends, and as a ichthysophilist ,he had quite a supply of equipment needed when angling, like lines, baits, rods, reels, and floats.
A connoisseur of pictures, engravings, book illustrations, and the like: Mr. Straight had a special taste for drawings, paintings prints, icons, and sketches and was known to be the best iconophile in his town.
The love of images: Mr. Morse had a whole collection of articles and books on iconophilia and even went to art museums where he could learn even more about icons and coloured illustrations of all kinds. :
An enthusiast or student of iconography: At university, Jack, a true iconophilist, took many courses on imagery and portraitures of important, or even of not so important people.
The fondness or attachment to icons or religious images: In his books on iconophily, Mr. Timmons viewed many coloured illustrations and engravings, many of which he had acquired at art exhibitions.
A defender, supporter, or champion of the underdog: A person or a group that is in a competition and it is frequently related to someone in electoral politics, sports and creative works, and who is usually expected to lose is termed as the "underdog". Mr.Poor, an infracaninophile usually sympathized with such groups or people.
A person who loves and collects cigar bands: Katy's grandfather smoked cigars and always gave the bands to her where she put them in a box especially for them. Her parents called her a infulaphilist.
A histologic element that readily combines with or staines with iodine: Iodinophil can be a plant celll that turns starch blue -black when joined together or linked with iodine.
iodinophilous (adjective), more iodinophilous, most iodinophilous
Referring to something that can be stained with iodineL: There are many iodinophilous materials that combine readily with iodine, including acetate, synthetic wool, cotton, fibreglass, nylon, or polyester.
You may take a self-scoring quiz over some of the words in this section by just clicking this Philo Quiz #1 link.Related "love, fondness" units: agape-; amat-; vener-; venus.
