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.
chasmophilous (adjective), more chasmophilous, most chasmophilous
In biology, referring to a life form that thrives in rock crevices: Some chasmophilous plants develop well in rock chinks, fissures, and crannies, and among them are the wooly yarrow and the snow in summer.
The condition of lifeforms thriving in the cracks of rocks: Margarete decided to read an article on chasmophily in order to learn more about what kinds of plants would grow best in the crevices and fissures of a rock wall that he was thinking about.
A person who is fond of and saves door stops: One of the strangest hobbies that Dave had heard of was the hobby of his neighbor, a checkephile, who had over a hundred devices to stop doors from opening too wide.
An organism that lives on wet sandbars: A sand crab can be considered to be a cheradophile that burrows into the moist sand at a beach.
cheradophilous (adjective), more cheradophilous, most cheradophilous
In biology, concerning an organism that dwells on wet sandbars: There are some cheradophilous creatures that habitat the moisture of the sandbars, among them are the clams and mole crabs.
The partiality to dwell on wet sandbars: When at the beach, Peggy was interested in the cheradophily of animals on the sandbars close by and found many interesting little creatures, like the beach hoppers and some beetles.
A form of life that prefers living in dry wasteland areas: Among the many chersophiles are ragwort, poppied, and mullein.
chersophilous (adjective), more chersophilous, most chersophilous
In biology, regarding an organism thriving in dry wasteland habitats: Some chersophilous plants include the teasels and the melilot.
A preference of living organisms to habitat dry wastelands: The chersophily of the dry and barren area near Mr. Timmons home fascinated him, and he enjoyed the lovely poppies that grew there every spring.
A plant that can endure long snowy winters, or one that requires snow cover in winter: A chianophile can be a lichen that can survive under prolonged layers of snow.
chimnophilous (noun), more chimnophilous, most chimnophilous
Referring primarily to plants that thrive during the winter: Certain chimnophilous flora exhibit maximum development during the winter.
1. Someone who enjoys or is fond of cold winters: Tim's next-door neighbor, a chimonophile, loved the winter months, especially the snow, because he enjoyed skiing in the Alps!
2. A plants that exhibits maximum development during the winter: The Siberian Iris is considered to be a chimonophile in that it does very well in very cold winter months.
2. A plants that exhibits maximum development during the winter: The Siberian Iris is considered to be a chimonophile in that it does very well in very cold winter months.
chimonophilous (adjective), more chimonophilous, most chimonophilous
A reference to plants that exhibit maximum development during the winter: Certain kinds of chimonophilous flora thrive best when the weather is very cold from about December to March.
In biology, the preference of certain plants to thrive or exist better during the winter season: Chimonophily can be exemplified by certain vegetables like Brussels sprouts, kale, and parsnips.
Snow-loving; usually used to describe plants that have grown through a snow cover: Chinophiles can be the crocuses or the snowdrops that show their flowers at the very fist sign of spring.
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.
