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.

pediophilous (adjective), more pediophilous, most pediophilous
Concerning life forms that thrive in uplands or higher soil areas: Pediophilous birds, like the ravens, peregrine falcons, and red grouse, prefer life in a higher region, in contrast to a low-lying land, like a plain.
pediophily (s) (noun) (no pl)
The situation of a form of life living in high soil levels: Peter read about pediophily in his textbook that described life of animals or plants preferring environments in high grounds, like the red deer, pine martens, and wildcats.
pelagophile (s) (noun), pelagophiles (pl)
An aquatic life form that lives in the top layers of the ocean: Floating barnacles and the golden seaweed Sargassum in the Sargasso Sea, for example, are forms of pelagophiles, among many kinds of fish species.
pelagophilous (adjective) (not comparable)
In biology, thriving in the open surface waters of the sea: Pelagophilous fish, as the tolstolobik and the chekhon, deposit their roe for development in the open ocean.
pelagophily (s) (noun) (no pl)
The feature of oceanic forms of life thriving on the surface of the sea: The article on pelagophily interested Arthur very much because he wanted to know more about the different forms of life growing on the top layers of the ocean, like some snails and nudibranchs.
pelochthophile (s) (noun), pelochthophiles (pl)
In biology, an organism (plant and/or animal) that dwells and thrives in mudbanks: Some vegetation, like the trifid bur marigold communities, can be considered to be pelochthophile that grow well in such moist muddy conditions.
pelochthophilous (adjective), more pelochthophilous, most pelochthophilous
Regarding the existence of an organism in mudbanks: Only a few pelochthophilous plants can develop when there is little rain, the rivers are low, and the mudbanks are dry.
pelochthophily (s) (noun) (no pl)
The occurrence of an organism thriving in a mudbank: When finding some information about pelochthophily, Joe learned that there were many forms of life, like the crowngrass, a plant in the family Poaceae, that preferred growing in mudbanks.
pelophile (s) (noun), pelophiles (pl)
A plant or animal thriving in habitats rich in clay: There are some vegetables that are pelophiles, like lettuce and chard, that grow well in clay soil because moisture can be retained easily in it.
pelophilous (adjective), more pelophilous, most pelophilous
Regarding vegetation that can grow in mud or clay: Some pelophilous plants like broccoli and Brussels sprouts thrive better in soil rich in clay than in other soils.
pelophily (s) (noun) (no pl)
In biology, the condition of life forms thriving in muddy habitats or ones rich in clay: Susan had a garden with soil that had a lot of clay in it, and, when she didn't know what to plant in it, she asked her father, who gave her a book on pelophily that had all the answers!
peltrophilist (s) (noun), peltrophilists (pl)
A collector of pewterware: Sam's wife, a peltrophilist, loved objects made of an alloy of tin, copper, and antimony, and she had a special shelf in her kitchen with tableware and other kitchen utensils made of such metal.
percussophilist (s) (noun), percussophilists (pl)
A person fond of old guns: Mike's father was a percussophilist who was very interested in old firearms and had a small collection of them in a locked cabinet in his home.
peresterophily
1. The art of training pigeons.
2. A special fondness for or love of pigeons.
peridromophilist (s) (noun), peridromophilists (pl)
An individual who loves transport tickets: When Jim was a boy and traveled with his family, they aways went by bus, train, boat, or by plane, and he always saved the tickets they had. He had quite a collection of them which he kept in a special album, and his parents said that he was the perfect peridromophilist in his family!
Quiz button #1 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.