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.
philhellene (adjective), more philhellene, most philhellene
Pertaining to a love of Greece, the Greeks, or things related to Greece: Ever since Neal and Nigel had spent their holiday in Greece, they both had a philhellene attraction towards the food and countryside of Greece and decided to spend all their vacations in that country!
philhippic (noun), more philhippic, most philhippic
Regarding a fondness for horses: Lynn loved and learned everything about horses when she was a child. She evidently had a strong philhippic interest in them because she really wanted to have a horse of her own!
Someone who is interested in the study of medicine; a medical student: Medicine aroused Jack's curiosity and he decided to become a philiater and, as an amateur, learn more about helping people in a medical way.
One who collects matchbooks or matchboxes: As a phillumenist, Max was constantly looking for those little folded cards containing paper matches, and the best ones were from different places in the world!
The pastime or pursuit of collecting matchboxes, their labels or, or other things connected with matches: Since Joe was interested in phillumeny, he saved many matchboxes and matchbooks, and joined other phillumenists in order to compare and maybe trade those he had doubled for ones he didn't have yet.
One who really likes books: Lynn had many shelves full of nice books, some of which were very old, and, as a philobiblian, she never wanted to give them away or get rid of them!
philobiblian (adjective), more philobiblian, most philobiblian
Relating to the devotion of books: Mary had a philobiblian interest in good books, especially very old dictionaries or lexica, and had to make more room on her shelves for the ones she acquired.
philobiblic (adjective), more philobiblic, most philobiblic
Descriptive of the fondness of books or devotion to literature; bibliophilic: Sally's philobiblic hobby led her to new friends who also had such philobiblic interests, and so they got together once a week to read and talk about the plots of their favourite books.
philobiblical (adjective), more philobiblical, most philobiblical
A reference to the devotion and the study of the Bible: Beth and Grace were very religious and wanted to learn more about the Bible, and so they had philobiblical get-togethers to read, to learn more, and to peruse the Bible stories.
The collection of books done by devoted book collectors: The local bookstore encouraged philobiblism, so the owners of the store always had the newest and most interesting books on sale for those who loved books.
A lover of books; bibliophile: Gary's parents called him a philobiblist because he spent all of his free time reading books, and not fiddling with his iPhone!
A love of beautiful things: Mrs. Thompson was noted for her philocalism because he home was furnished with the most exquisite and and elegant furniture and decorations.
Somebody who loves beauty or is fond of beautiful things: Ruth was a philocalist and never acquired anything that wasn't exquisite and pleasing to her eye.
philocomal (adjective), more philocomal, most philocomal
A reference to the care of hair: Jackie spent a lot of money on philocomal appointments at the hairdresser's for the special shampoo, rinses, and for her coiffure.
philocremno (s) (adjective), more philocremno, most philocremno
A reference to the fondness for steep rocks or cliffs: Mountain goats possess a philocremno existence and are especially attracted to ridges, cliffs and sheer precipitous places at high elevations.
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.
