philo-, phil-, -phile, -philia, -philic, -philous, -phily, -philiac, -philist, -philism
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.
ornithocophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The situation or condition of life in a bird's droppings: In her book on birds, Jill read about ornithocophily, which she found out might contain dangerous and harmful organisms for humans.
ornithocoprophile
(s) (noun), ornithocoprophiles
(pl)
An organism thriving in habitats rich in bird droppings or feces: There are health risks involved from organisms, or ornithocoprophiles, that might be diseased and grow in the rich-nutrient heaps or piles of bird droppings.
ornithocoprophilous
(adjective) (not comparable)
Pertaining to a habitat rich in bird droppings: It is said that working in an
ornithocoprophilous environment with bat or bird excreta can expose those people to critical contagious illnesses.
Guano is the mass of excreta of bats and seabirds and is a great fertiliser in an ornithocoprophilous soil with a high concentration of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium which are all very good nutrients for plant growth and development.
ornithophilous
(adjective), more ornithophilous, most ornithophilous
In biology, concerning the pollination by birds; bird-fertilized: An
ornithophilous process takes place when pollen is transferred to the stigma of a flower by the way of birds.
Flowerss that are ornithophilous must be clearly visible, showy, or obvious to birds.
ornithophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The pollination by birds: Flowering plants that are fertilized by birds is called ornithophily.
orophile
(s) (noun), orophiles
(pl)
A plant or animal that prefers living in mountainous or subalpine areas: There are a number of
orophiles that favor life in the mountains, including the snow leopard and the bighorn-sheep.
Even people can be termed orophiles when they love the mountains and live there their whole lives!
orophilic
(adjective), more orophilic, most orophilic
Regarding a life form that thrives in mountainous regions: Orophilic organisms can be organisms, especially an insect can be an orophilic creature.
orophilous
(adjective), more orophilous, most orophilous
In botany, descriptive of a plant thriving in subalpine, or in mountainous regions: Orophilous orophytes is a group of plants that are well adapted for life in areas below timberline.
The occurrence of plants growing in mountainous or subalpine areas: When reading about orophily, she learned that there are certain plants that favour the mountain habitats, like the mountain daises, small tussocks, and carpet grass.
osmophile
(s) (noun), osmophiles
(pl)
An organism that thrives in a medium of high osmotic concentration: An osmophile is a microorganism that is similar to a halophile, or salt-loving form of life, because they both share a common environment of low water activity.
osmophilic
(adjective), more osmophilic, most osmophilic
Concerning an affinity for solutions of high osmotic pressure: Osmophilic forms of life have an attraction to osmium, and therefore have a black appearance under the light microscope.
osmophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The osmotic features of existence at a high salt concentration: Osmophily can especially be applied to tumor pressure and cellular dehydration.
oxidephilist
(s) (noun), oxidephilists
(pl)
A collector of enamel work: Jim's uncle, a oxidephilist, had quite a number of such bowls and vessels with the glassy or opaque compound that was fused to the surface of those objects.
oxygeophile
(s) (noun), oxygeophiles
(pl)
An organism that dwells and develops in humus-rich environments: There are quite a number of oxygeophiles that prosper well in organic material such as worms and earth-friendly bacteria.
oxygeophilous
(adjective), more oxygeophilous, most oxygeophilous
In biology, concerning a life form that thrives in humus-rich habitats: Mrs. Smith wanted to get only oxygeophilous plants for her garden which had very good soil that contained partly decomposed organic matter.
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.
