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.
anheliophily
(s) (noun), anheliophilies
(pl)
The process of a living organism grow growing in diffuse sunlight: Anheliophily is known to take place in tropical forest areas, like the plants in the genus heliconia.
anthophile
(s) (noun), anthophiles
(pl)
1. An individual who adores flowers: As an
anthophile, Lynn's next-door neighbor was very fond of flowering plants and planted her garden full of diverse blossoming plants!
2. An organism that is drawn to flowers: Any kind of insect that is attracted to bright coloured flowers can be an anthophile.
anthophilous
(adjective), more anthophilous, most anthophilous
In zoology, pertaining to the attraction to, or the existence of organisms among flowers: Many insects, slugs, lizards, and turtles are all considered to be
anthophilous and eat flowers.
Certain insects, like bees, flies, butterflies and months, are all anthophilous in that they are fond of colorful flowers, and collect pollen and nectar from them.
anthophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The condition of existing or growing on flowers: The situation of anthophily can be seen with insects or certain birds that rely on flowers to exist.
anthropophile
(s) (noun), anthropophiles
(pl)
A life form that is attracted tp people or to society: A human-seeking, or selecting, parasite that prefers humans more than other animals as a source of blood for meals is certainly an anthropophile!
anthropophilic
(adjective), more anthropophilic, most anthropophilic
1. A reference to human-seeking or human-preference: Blood-sucking arthropods that have a desire for the human host as a source of blood or tissues over those of other animal hosts are considered to be anthropophilic.
2. Pertaining to the existence in a human environment or favoring humans as hosts for nourishment: Anthropophilic parasites are those that show specificity for humans as opposed to other species, or of any flora or fauna that benefits from human activities.
anthropophilous
(adjective), more anthropophilous, most anthropophilous
Relating to a preference of thriving in close proximity to mankind:
Anthropophilous creatures, such as blood-sucking anthropoids like mosquitos, certainly favor humans for their supply of nutrition.
Dermatophytic fungi are also anthropophilous organisms that grow preferably on people.
anthropophily
(s) (noun) (no pl)
A preference towards mankind over other animals: Anthropophily can be observed by certain parasitic organisms preferring human as their hosts, like skin fungi.
anthropozoophilic
(adjective), more anthropozoophilic, most anthropozoophilic
Referring to the attraction towards humans and other animals as hosts: Certain kinds of mosquitoes, for example, are anthropozoophilic in that they bite and suck the blood of a person and can cause an itchy rash.
aphilopony
(s) (noun), aphiloponyies
(pl)
An outdated term for an aversion, or a lack of desire, to work: Sam tried to avoid working as much as possible, saying he was sick, had a slight headache, or had a doctor's appointment, so his boss thought that Sam was afflicted with aphilopony and decided to fire him!
apodysophilia
(s) (noun), apodysophilias
(pl)
An abnormal eagerness to disrobe or to undress: At the Academy Awards ceremony many years ago, a man who might have had a form of apodysophilia, streaked across the stage behind the Master of Ceremonies, causing shock and amazement, which disrupted the program for awhile.
apopurophile, apopurophilist
(s) (noun); apopurophiles; apopurophilists
(pl)
An aggregator of fire marks: Mr. Thompson used to be an apopurophile who had an unusual hobby of collecting metal plaques showing the emblems or names of the insurance agencies with which they were insured.
arctophile
(s) (noun), arctophiles
(pl)
An individual who has an affection for teddy bears: In her preteenage years, Sally, an arctophile, loved toy bears that were usually fleecy and stuffed with soft material, and she even had a large collection of them!
arctophilist
(s) (noun), arctophilists
(pl)
Someone who collects teddy bears: or a collector of teddy bears: Mrs. Lawson used to be an arctophilist with at least a hundred little toy bears, but after a while she donated them all to a charity.
argentophile
(s) (noun), argentophiles
(pl)
Something that can be impregnated with silver ions: Argentophiles are tissue elements that can become saturated with silver electrically charged particles and then are perceivable following the application of a reducing substance.
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.
