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.
coryphilous
(noun), more coryphilous, most coryphilous
In biology, concerning life forms that thrive in alpine meadows: There are many coryphilous plants and trees that grow in alpine fields, like the subalpine fir in Mount Rainier's subalpine meadows..
coryphily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The preference of particular plants to dwell in alpine fields: At the library, June read a book describing coryphily as the growth of certain kinds of vegetation in alpine meadows, but not in deserts!
coryphophile
(s) (noun), coryphophiles
(pl)
A form of life that lives in high mountains: There are many animals, or coryphophiles, that exist in high mountain ranges, and among them are the snow leopard, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats.
coryphophilous
(adjective), more coryphophilous, most coryphophilous
In biology, referring to an organism that dwells in high mountains: One coryphophilous mammal that lives in high regions is the Himalayan Brown Bear.
coryphophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The partiality of a creature to inhabit areas in high mountains: The occurrence of creatures to prefer living in high mountain regions is known as coryphophily.
cottapensophile, cottapensophilist
(s) (noun); cottapensophiles; cottapensophilists
A collector of coat hangers: Lynn wasn't sure if she had enough hangers for her clothes, so she saved and accumulated all the ones she came across, and became known as a cottapensophile among her friends!
cremnophile
(s) (noun), cremnophiles
(pl)
An animal or plant that thrives on cliffs: Amphibians, like some species of lungless salamanders, and reptiles, like prairie lizards, are
cremnophiles if they dwell on cliffs.
cremnophilous
(adjective), more cremnophilous, most cremnophilous
Pertaining to the existence of life forms on cliffs: Some cremnophilous birds that prefer living on maritime cliffs are colonies of seabirds.
cremnophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The preference of an animal or plant to thrive on cliffs: In the article about cremnophily that Meg read, it mentioned that certain salt-tolerant plants, like the rock samphire and thrift, existed on maritime cliffs up high enough to avoid the waves of the sea.
crenophile
(s) (noun), crenophiles
(pl)
In biology, a creature that lives in or near a spring. The northern pike and the trout are both crenophiles that prefer thriving in spring environments.
crenophilous
(adjective), more crenophilous, most crenophilous
Referring to an organism that dwells in or near a spring: Two crenophilous fish that enjoy thriving in freshwater springs are the smallmouth bass and the largemouth bass.
crenophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The preference of an organism to exist in or near a spring: In his book about fish, Tom came across the topic of crenophily describing such fish that thrive best near an origin of freshwater.
cruciverbalophile
(s) (noun), cruciverbalophiles
(pl)
Someone who loves or who is very fond of crossword puzzles: Janet's next-doof neighbor who was a cruciverbalophile and had a whole collection of crossword puzzles which she was so devoted to, and she completed at least one every day!
crymophile
(s) (noun), crymophiles
(pl)
A form of life that thrives in polar habitats or regions: There aren't any trees that grow in such polar areas, but there are some
crymophiles in the Antarctica, like some kinds of small shrubs, mosses, algae, and lichens.
There are some animals that are crymophiles, like the polar bears and arctic foxes, that are able to exist in the very cold weather of the Arctic environments.
crymophilic
(adjective), more crymophilic, most crymophilic
Regarding a life form that grows best at low temperatures: Some crymophilic microorganisms are not able to thrive in heat, but only in the chilliness of the weather.
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.
