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.
A condition that makes it possible for plants and certain animals to continue living with large amounts of rain: In order to provide enough moisture for certain plants, a pluviophily had to be constructed inside the arboretum at the botanical gardens.
Someone who loves beards: Mr. Smart was very fond of the whiskers on his chin, and even tried a goatee, but he liked the way he had it before with just some stubble.
A form of life that lives in urban areas: Two wild city dwellers include racoons and the house mice, which are both poleophiles.
poleophilous (adjective), more poleophilous, most poleophilous
In biology, regarding a creature that thrives in urban habitats: Some poleophilous birds are quite common in cities, like the English sparrow and the European starling.
The fondness of thriving in an urban environment: Since Linda lived in the city and was interested in animals, her hobby involved poleophily which included the habitats of raccoons and the Virginia opossums.
An organism that thrives in a wide range of salinities: While at the seaside one summer, Judy learned that there were many polyhalophiles that spent their lives in the ocean.
polyhalophilic (adjective), more polyhalophilic, most polyhalophilic
Referring to the existence of an animal in a wide range of salinities: Waterfowl, crabs, and fish are all considered to be polyhalophilic and thrive well in salty environments.
polyphiloprogenitive (adjective), more polyphiloprogenitive, most polyphiloprogenitive
Relating to being excessively prolific or very fertile: The cat that Virginia had when she was a girl was very polyphiloprogenitive and had a few litters of kittens each year!
An organism that thrives in deep water: Fish and squid, for example, are pontophiles that exist in the depths of the oceans.
pontophilous (adjective), more pontophilous, most pontophilous
In biology, referring to an organism that thrives in deep-sea areas: Two pontophilous forms of life that live in the depths of the sea are the jellyfish and krill.
The existence of life forms in the depths of the sea: When reading about pontophily, Jeffrey was amazed that about 100 billion tons of fish occupy the mesopelagic region of the ocean.
A form of life that lives in meadows: Poophiles are animal species that prefer dwelling in meadows, like the caterpillars and crickets.
poophilous (adjective), more poophilous, most poophilous
In biology, pertaining to a creature that thrives in meadows: Two poophilous animals are the earthworm and European hare, both of which prefer meadow life.
The preference of an existence in meadows: Meg learned in her biology class at school, that poophily pertained to the animal life in the grassland or field right next to her home!
A form of life that exists in rivers: Zooplankton and crayfish are two examples of potamophiles that prefer life in streams.
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.
