philo-, phil-, -phile, -philia, -philic, -philous, -phily, -philiac, -philist, -philism
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.
pygophilist
(s) (noun), pygophilists
(pl)
A person who is especially fond of buttocks: Sally's ex-boyfriend was evidently a pygophilist as he was quite attracted to the shapely rears of women.
pygophilous
(adjective), more pygophilous,most pygophilous
A strong fondness for buttocks or rumps: Chuck had an extreme attraction towards women in a the most
pygophilous way, and therefore had difficulties in any lasting relationship with a nice lady.
Meg read about men affected by a pygophilous condition and having an unusual and immoderate fondness for sexy back sides of females.
pyrophile
(s) (noun), pyrophiles
(pl)
Someone who has a special attraction to fires: Joe's brother was a
pyrophile who was totally enthusiastic about fireworks and fire.
Sandy's father was a pyrophile, a specialist in volcanoes, and explained to her that they were caused by natural internal heat from inside the Earth.
pyrophile
(s) (noun), pyrophiles
(pl)
A plant that requires fire for reproduction: The buckbrush and manzanita are both pyrophiles because the seeds with such hard shells need the heat from a fire to break them open and to enable them to sprout.
pyrophilous
(adjective), more pyrophilous, most pyrophilous
1. Regarding an abnormal attraction to fires by starting, or watching, them: Because of his pyrophilous actions, Jeff was caught and questioned by the police.
2. Descriptive of plants that quickly start growing in areas that have been recently burned: Some pyrophilous plants, like the fireweed, the manzanita, and the buckbrush, started thriving following the terrible fire near Jack's home.
pyrophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The feature of plants that grow on ground which has been recently burned over: When Jill was reading about pyrophily for her biology class, she came across the fireweed which grew well in open fields, especially in land that had just been scorched by a fire.
pyroxylophile
(s) (noun), pyroxylophiles
(pl)
A form of life growing on burned wood: It is said that the Daldinia fissa, a pyroxylophile, came to life at Moore Nature Reserve in Washingtonon on some wood that had been burned not long before.
pyroxylophilous
(adjective), more pyroxylophilous, most pyroxylophilous
Pertaining to a life form that thrives on burned wood: When wood burns, wood ash is produced, which is excellent for some pyroxylophilous vegetables, like carrots and parsnips, that need its nutrients, like calcium, to grow well.
pyroxylophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The situation of a life form existing on wood that has burned: After reading about pyroxylophily, Jeff knew what plants could grow best in soil with wood ash, from burned wood, which contained important nutrients for the plants he wanted in his garden.
quamtophilist, quamtophile
(s) (noun); quamtophilists; quamtophiles
(pl)
A collector of novelties or curiosities: Whenever Jane and her husband, both quamtophilists, went on vacation, they just couldn't resist from buying new and interesting items and innovations from the stores they visited.
queselcardophilist, queselcardophile
(s) (noun); queselcardophilists; queselcardophiles
(pl)
A collector of radio-ham cards: As a queselcardophilist, Sam was especially interested in amateur radio communication by using the radio frequency spectrum, and had a nice assortment of cards relating to ham radio.
razrapophilist
(s) (noun), razrapophilists
(pl)
A person who is very fond of razorblade packets: When Kitty's father shaved, he used a razor with a sharp-edged piece of steel fixed in it. Kitty thought the little containers for them were really cute, and, as a razrapophilist, wanted to save them, so her father gave them to her, of course without the razorblades in them!
rhabdoidephilist
(s) (noun), rhabdoidephilists
(pl)
One who delights in oddly shaped twigs: Tommy always brought home some strangely-shaped branches and sticks which he put on the window ledge in his room. His mother said that he was a real rhabdoidephilist.
rheophile
(s) (noun), rheophiles
(pl)
An animal that prefers living in or near flowing water: The American black swift, the great dusky swift, and the white-collared swift are all rheophiles that build their nests behind waterfalls.
rheophilous
(adjective), more rheophilous, most rheophilous
In biology, regarding an animal that thrives in or has an affinity for running water: Two rheophilous or rheophilic fish can be the stream loaches and the freshwater catfish from Africa.
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.
