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.
An organism that thrives in association with bees: There are some crops that are fertilized by bees, like cranberries, pumpkins, and squash, which are considered bed be melittophiles.
melittophilous (adjective), more melittophilous, most melittophilous
Pertaining to a form of life that thrives in association with bees: A melittophilous plant is one that spends part of its life cycle in association with bees, for example by pollination.
The feature of pollination by bees: Lance was intrigued by melittophily when he found out that the broccoli, the apples, and the melons in his garden were fertilized by bees!
An organism that is attractive to bees: Flowers that are white, yellow, purple, or blue are mellitophiles and are very fascinating for bees, particularly if the the flowers have a strong scent.
mellitophilous (adjective), more mellitophilous, most mellitophilous
In biology, regarding flowers that are attractive to bumble-bees: Mellitophilous flowers from the daisy family tempt those bees with shorter tongues, and honeysuckle flowers attract those bumble-bees with longer tongues.
The occurrence of pollination by bees: When spring arrives with warm weather, mellitophily can begin and takes place throughout the summer and into the fall
An individual who collects bowling-club badges: Litty Tommy thought that the buttons that the members of the bowling team wore were really neat, so he started collecting the ones the members didn't want anymore. His parents told him that he was a great membullaphilist because he had so many on a shelf in his room at home.
A person who loves and collects bookmarks: As a memophilist, Judy had a wide variety of bookmarks from various bookstores in different cities, and some of them were made of leather, some were plastic, and some were made of metal.
An organism that thrives at a moderate temperature and under moderate moisture conditions: A mesophile can be a bacterium that lives at a temperature between 25°C and 40°C.
mesophilic, mesophilous (adjective); more mesophilic, most mesophilic; more mesophilous, most mesophilous
Referring to a microorganism that prefers growth at moderate temperatures: There are three basic forms of mesophilic organisms: coccus, bacillus, and spiral.
The situation of a life form thriving under moderate conditions and under moderate moisture: When reading about mesophily, Tom discovered that some microorganisms, like Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes, developed quite well under moist and moderate temperatures, like in a person's body.
An organism that has a preference for dwelling in temperate zones with a moderate temperature: Many insects, frogs, turtles, and spiders are considered to be mesothermophiles that thrive well in mild and moderate environments.
mesothermophilous (adjective), more mesothermophilous, most mesothermophilous
A reference to an organism that favors or prefers to live in temperate zones: Some mesothermophilous life forms that prefer dwelling in mild habitats are slugs, salamanders, and pileated woodpeckers.
The situation of a life form selecting a temperate environment to thrive: When checking the internet for more information on mesothermophily, Robert read that some birds, like the broad-winged hawks, cardinals, and the snowy owls favored a mild habitat to live in.
metallophilic (adjective) (not comparable)
Relating to the tendency to absorb metal ions: In the course on cytology, Peter learned about metallophilic cytoplasm.
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.
