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.
ammophilous (adjective), more ammophilous most ammophilous
Pertaining to an organism that thrives in sandy habitats: Ammophilous flowers include the Black Eyed Susan and Lavender, both of which need lots of sun.
The preference of a life form for dwelling in sand: Ammophily can be demonstrated by the sand wasp that typically digs burrows in sand!
A person who accumulates valentines: Little Mary loved the greeting cards people gave each other on February 14 each year, so she decided to collect them and her parents called her an amourophilist!
Any of many organic compounds, as a surfactant or a detergent Such an amphiphile, like a bile salt or a phospholipid, is composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions.
amphiphilic (adjective), more amphiphilic, most amphiphilic
Relating to a molecule having a polar, water-soluble group attached to a nonpolar, water-insoluble hydrocarbon chain: An amphiphilic detergent possesses a hydrophilic and hydrophobic group.
1. Having an affinity both for acid and for basic dyes;amphophilic; amphophilous: Amphophils are those des that are water-soluble.
2. A cell that stains readily with either acid or basic dyes; amphocyte; amphochromatophil; amphochromatophile; amphochromophil; amphochromophile: Such amphophil can stain or color the cells of wool, silk, nylon or the cells of acrylic fibres.
2. A cell that stains readily with either acid or basic dyes; amphocyte; amphochromatophil; amphochromatophile; amphochromophil; amphochromophile: Such amphophil can stain or color the cells of wool, silk, nylon or the cells of acrylic fibres.
The type of a cell that can be stained with either acid or basic dyes: In comparison, chromophobic tissues do not dye easily, as the amphophile cells do.
amphophilic, amphophilous (adjective) (not comparable)
Concerning something that can be stained with either a basic or an acidic dye: The chemistry teacher gave the students the assignment to find out which fabrics or tissues had amphophilic qualities, or those that could be colored.
A person who has an partiality for collecting medallions; a collector of medallions: Tim's sister seemed to be an anaglyphile because she certainly had a large collection of medals and ribbons!
Tim's uncle wanted to find as many old Greek coins, but that seemed to more difficult than he though! So his hope of becoming an anaglyphile didn't come true.
An attraction or fondness for collecting medallions: There seemed to be a situation of anaglyphily among Mary's friends, because each of them had such a nice collection of medals and ribbons that they won as prizes at different sport events.
In biology, a form of life that thrives in a canyon forest: On their trip, the family camped close to a ravine where many ancophiles lived especially well and protected in such an environment.
ancophilous (adjective), more ancophilous, most ancophilous
Referring to an organism that lives in canyon forests: Some forms of mosses are ancophilous and prefer the coolness of the shady trees in gorges.
An preference for living in the forests of canyons: In some canyons, the condition of ancophily can be observed by the Douglas fir trees that prosper the best in the shade.
In psychiatry, one of three persons involved in an intimate relationship: In a book that the psycologist Mr. Smith read, an androgynophile was described as one who thought that a love affair was best with three people, either altogether or one after the other.
In psychiatry, a situation of a loving relationship with a man and a woman either including another man or another woman: Jack read about androgynophilia, but thought that this certainly wasn't the kind of romance he was looking for.
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.
