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.
membullaphile
membullaphilist
A collector of bowling-club badges.
memophilist
A collector of bookmarks.
mesophile
mesophilic
mesophilous
1. Thriving under intermediate or moderate environmental conditions; sometimes restricted to conditions of moderate moisture, or to moderate temperature.
2. A reference to micro-organisms having an optimum for growth between 20 and 45 degrees Centigrade.
3. Organisms, such as bacteria, that thrive at human-body temperature and of organisms preferring moderate moisture.
2. A reference to micro-organisms having an optimum for growth between 20 and 45 degrees Centigrade.
3. Organisms, such as bacteria, that thrive at human-body temperature and of organisms preferring moderate moisture.
mesophily
mesothermophile
mesothermophilous
A reference to organisms that favor or prefer to live in temperate zones.
mesothermophily
metallophilic
metartephilist
A collector of metalwork.
An organism capable of oxidizing methane or bacteria that are able to metabolize methane as their only source of carbon and energy.
microaerophile
microaerophilic
1. Thriving in a free oxygen concentration significantly less than that of the atmosphere.
2. A reference to an environment in which the partial pressure of oxygen is significantly below normal atmospheric levels but which is not fully anaerobic.
3. A tiny organism; such as, a bacterium, which is capable of living in an environment where there is not much oxygen.
2. A reference to an environment in which the partial pressure of oxygen is significantly below normal atmospheric levels but which is not fully anaerobic.
3. A tiny organism; such as, a bacterium, which is capable of living in an environment where there is not much oxygen.
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.
