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.
potamophilous (adjective), more potamophilous, most potamophilous
Descriptive of a creature that prefers dwelling in rivers: Mary found out that some insects and fish were potamophilous animals that favoured living in the creek right next to her house!
In biology, the existence of life forms existing in streams: Since there was a river very close to Mike's house, he discovered a book on potamophily in the library which gave details regarding the aquatic organisms that he saw in the flowing water.
A person who is very fond of teapots: Since Mrs. Pot loved drinking tea, she needed tea pots. With time she turned out to be a potruspytophilist who had a great collection of nice pots for brewing tea, including matching tea sets.
The love of tea pots:; the collection of tea pots: Since Mrs. Hathaway preferred drinking tea, and not coffee, her friends gave her a book on potruspytophily with beautiful pictures and photos of antique tea pots.
A strong interest in collecting ammunition: Everyone who visited Mr. Gun knew that he was keen on projectilephily, because he had all kinds of old bullets and rockets made to be fired from guns and revolversas displayed in picture frames or in a glass cabinet in his living room.
A collector of miscellaneous items: James, known to be a proliferophilist, had a lot of interests and loved to go to antique stores where he always found an unusual item or two, and therefore accumulated numerous objects over the years.
protozoophilous (adjective) (not comparable)
In biology, concerning the pollination by protozoa: The action of protozoophilous single-celled microscopic animals, besides protozoa, can be seen with regard to some aquatic plants.
The pollination by protozoa: When reading the article about protozoa, Sam came across some information regarding protozoophily, or the pollination of aquatic plants by the single-celled microscopic creatures.
A form of life that prefers the strand line of a sandy seashore: Tiny organisms, like crabs, worms and sand hoppers, are all considered to be psamathophiles.
psamathophilous (adjective), more psamathophilous, most psamathophilous
In biology, regarding a life form that thrives in the strand line of a sandy seashore: Some psamathophilous organisms that prefer sandy beach life can be shellfish and insects.
The preference of some organisms to dwell in a sandy seashore: Jane loved the beach and watched the many little creatures that seemed to live in the strand line, or shoreline, along the coast. She found out that this situation was termed psamathophily and decided to learn more about animal life in the sandy seashores.
A form of life that grows in sandy soil; an arenophile: Some sand-loving psammophiles are lavender and carrots!
psammophilic, psammophilous (adjective); more psammophilic, most psammophilic; more psammophilous, most psammophilous
Describing an organism that lives or thrives in sandy soil: A psammophilic plant is quite adapted to withstand any damage that might occur from wind-blown sand.
The situation of a life form that thrives in sandy soil: When reading about psammophily, Jane found out that many plants preferred developing in sandy soil, including some vegetables like carrots, potatoes, radishes, and cucumbers.
An organism that grows in a prairie or in a savannah habitat: There are some plants that are psilophiles, have stiff stems, and prefer warm seasons, like the big bluesterm and the little bluestem.
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.
