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.
A collector of statues: Jack's aunt Mary, certainly was a cemetophilist who loved collecting sculptured figures and figurines because he garden was full of such obects!.
A special fondness or love for thunderstorms: Mr. White somehow was affected by ceraunophilia and enjoyed watching and taking photos of such storms that were caused by the strong rising air currents in the sky.
A collector of parian figures: At the museum, Doris met the cerecopephile, Mr. Mathews, who was presenting the fine, white marble, or porcelain objects which were originally found in Paros. Paros is a Greek island in the Cyclades chain.
A collector of stirrup cups: As a ceremaskophile, Greg had quite an accumulation of goblets or mugs that were served with some wine to different horsemen as a farewell just before they departed.
A person who is fond of compliment slips: When Jack was younger he was a ceremophilist and had a hobby of accumulating those pieces of paper printed with the names and addresses of companies that were sent with the packages instead of letters.
In geochemistry and geology, an element having a strong affinity for sulfur, and therefore tending to be more abundant in sulfide minerals and ores than in other types of rock: Copper can be considered to be a chalcophile according to the Goldschmidt classification.
chalcophilic (adjective), more chalcophilic, most chalcophilic
Descriptive of something having a strong affinity for sulfur: There is a chalcophilic attraction or affinity between sulfur atoms and noble metals, and this affinity is useful in producing surface-modified noble metal nanoparticles.
In biology, something that grows on gravel slides: When Jane tried finding some kind of chalicodophile on the internet, she found out that the more gravel in a certain area caused a diminished source of nutrients needed for plants to grow.
chalicodophilous (adjective), more chalicodophilous, most chalicodophilous
In biology, thriving or dwelling on gravel slides: Sam decided to see if he could find any kind of chalicodophilous creature or plant on the gravel slide near his home.
The condition of something thriving on a gravel slide: When the teacher gave her students an assignment on chalicodophily, they had to go to the local gravel slide to see what grew there.
In biology, a life form that dwells on a slide of gravel: Sally had to find out if any vegetables could be chalicophiles, or those that could thrive without soil, but just with crushed rock.
chalicophilous (adjective), more chalicophilous, most chalicophilous
In biology, descriptive of a life form thriving on gravel slides: With time many different kinds of very small chalicophilous organisms found spots to thrive in the naturally formed gravel slide.
The situation of a life form dwelling on a descent of crushed rock: Peggy found out that chalicophily described the many drought-tolerant plants that could grow on gravel slides.
One who collects maps: Not only did Mr. World have a hoard of maps and charts from all over the world, but, as a chartophile, he put up his treasures all over the walls in every room of his house!
A form of life that thrives in rock crevices or fissures: Some chasmophiles, like the creeping phlox and the creeping jenny, grow well in the cracks of rocks, crannies, and chasms.
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.
