philo-, phil-, -phile, -philia, -philic, -philous, -phily, -philiac, -philist, -philism (Greek: love, loving, friendly to, fondness for, attraction to, strong tendency toward, affinity for).

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abrakophile, abrakophilist: A collector who has a fondness for collecting knickknacks or trinkets.

abrakophilia, abrakophilism: A fondness for collecting knickknacks or trinkets.

acarophilous, acarophile, acarophily: In biology, thriving in association with mites; attracted to or attractive to mites.

acidophilic, acidophile, acidophily: 1. In biology, thriving in an acidic environment; a microorganism that grows well in a highly acid medium. 2. Any microorganism that can or must live in an acidic environment (pH below 6). 3. Easily stained with acid dye.

acrodendrophilous, acrodendrophile, acrodendrophily: In biology, thriving in tree-top habitats.

acrohygrophilous, aerohygrophile, aerohygrophily: In biology, thriving in high atmospheric humidity.

acrophilous, acrophile, acrophily: In biology, pertaining to or dwelling in lofty peaks.

actophilous, actophile, actophily: In biology, thriving on rocky seashores or growing on coasts.

aellophilous, aellophile, aellophily: In biology, said of plants distributed by stormy winds.

aerophilately: The collecting of airmail stamps.

aerophilous, aerophile, aerophily: In biology, 1. Pollinated by wind; fertilized by airborne pollen. 2. Thriving in exposed windy habitats. 3. Disseminated by the wind. 4. Air-loving.

agonophilia: In a man, a strong preference for lovemaking in which the woman pretends to struggle before giving in or acquiescing to sexual intercourse.

agrophilous, agrophile, agrophily: In biology, thriving in cultivated soils or dwelling in cultivated fields of grain.

aigialophilous, aigialophile, aigialophily: In biology, thriving in beach habitats.

ailurophilous [aelurophilous], ailurophile [aelurophile], ailurophily, [aelurophily]: One who loves, or is especially fond, of cats.

aiphyllophilous, aiphyllophile, aiphyllophily: In biology, thriving in evergreen woodland.

aithalophilous, aithalophile, aithalophily: In biology, thriving in evergreen thickets.

alcoholophilia: A morbid craving for alcoholic drinks.

aletophilous, aletophile, aletophily: In biology, thriving on roadside verges and beside railway tracks.

algophily: In psychiatry, synonymous with masochism [sexual satisfaction that is dependent upon the subject suffering pain, ill-treatment, and humiliation]; a term coined by Féré in L’Instinct Sexuel.

alkaliphilic, alkaliphile, alkaliphily, alkalophile: In biology, thriving in alkaline habitats. An organism that grows best in high pH (alkaline) environments of 8-11. They survive and produce poorly, or not at all, in a pH below 7.

allophilous, allophily: In biology, a reference to a plant that lacks morphological adaptations for attracting and guiding pollinators.

alsophilous, alsophile, alsophily: In biology, thriving in woody grove habitats.

altocalciphilia: A sexual desire for a person (not necessarily a woman) wearing high heels.

amathophilous, amathophile, amathophily: In biology, thriving in sandy plains or soils.

Amerindophile, Amerindophilist: A collector of Red Indian paraphernalia or articles.

ammochthophilous, ammochthophile, ammochthophily: In biology, thriving on or exhibiting a preference for sand banks.

ammophilous, ammophile, ammophily: In biology, thriving in sandy habitats.

amourophile, amourophilist: A collector of valentine cards.

amphophil, amphophile: 1. Having an affinity both for acid and for basic dyes. Also: amphophilic, amphophilous. 2. A cell that stains readily with either acid or basic dyes. Also: amphocyte. Synonyms: amphochromatophil, amphochromatophile, amphochromophil, amphochromophile.

anaglyphile, anaglyphily: A fondness for collecting medallions; a collector of medallions.

ancophilous, ancophile, anophily: In biology, thriving in canyon forests.

androgynophilia, androgynophile, androgynophily: In psychiatry, denoting sexual relationships with a man and a woman, either serially or concurrently (as in a “threesome”), by either a man or a woman.

andromimetophilia, andromimetophile, andromimetophily: In psychiatry, a sexual perversion in which sexual arousal and orgasm are dependent on the subject being the partner of a male impersonator.

androphilia, androphile, androphily: In psychiatry, sexual love of a man, by either a woman (female androphilia) or a man (male androphilia).

androphilous, androphile, androphily: In biology, thriving or dwelling in proximity to man.

anemophilous, anemophile, anemophily: In biology, 1. Dispersed by wind. 2. Applied to plants (flowers, trees, etc.) that are fertilized by pollen conveyed by the wind; pollinated by wind-blown pollen. 3. Thriving in sand draws.

Anglophile: One who admires England, its people, its culture, or to what is English.

anheliophilous, anheliophile, anheliophily: In biology, thriving in diffuse sunlight; for example, heliconias [a combination of helio-, “sun” and conio-, “dust”].

There are about eighty heliconia species in the New World tropics. With their paddle-shaped leaves and bright zigzaggy bracts, these members of the banana family erupt wherever sunlight taps the forest floor, providing food, drink and shelter to an astonishing cast of characters. For a slice of rain-forest life, there is no better place to look.

Because of their sun-loving, patchy distribution, heliconias have a problem connecting with others of their species. To fertilize one another, the plants need a pollinator that not only covers a lot of territory but is discriminating as well. Hummingbirds are nature’s specialists for this particular purpose.

Most heliconias have long tubular, curved flowers that only a hummingbird bill can negotiate. As they probe the base of a flower, hummingbirds find a treasure of nectar just for them. These energetic little birds drink up to eight times their own body weight each day, and heliconias produce a generous supply of nectar so they will keep coming back for more; pollinating as they go from one heliconia to another.

Adapted from an article, “Life on Plant Heliconia” by writer, Donna Johnson, and photographers Michael and Patricia Fogden, in International Wildlife, March-April, 1995.

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anthophilous, anthophile, anthophily: In biology, attracted to, or feeding on, flowers; living on or frequenting flowers.

anthropophilous, anthropophile, anthropophily: In biology, 1. Thriving in close proximity to mankind. 2. A reference to biting or blood-sucking insects that feed on humans.

apopurophilist, apopurophile: A collector of fire marks or a fondness for collecting them.

apotemnophilia, apotemnophile: A sexual perversion in which sexual arousal and orgasm are dependent upon the subject being an amputee.

arctophilist, arctophile: One who collects teddy bears or a collector of teddy bears.

argillophilous, argillophile, argillophily: In biology, thriving in clay or mud.

argyrophil, argyrophile: Pertaining to tissue elements that are capable of impregnation with silver ions and being made visible after an external reducing agent is used. Synonyms: argentophil, argentophile.

asphyxiophilia: Self-strangulation. Also known as autoerotic asphyxiation, a form of sexual masochism.

astrophile: A love or fondness of the stars.

audiophile: A devotee of high-fidelity reproduction of sound (chiefly U.S.). A person having an ardent interest in stereo or high-fidelity sound reproduction.

aulosophile, aulosophilist: A collector of reed instruments.

autagonistophilia: A sexual perversion in which sexual arousal and orgasm are contingent upon displaying one’s self in a live show, i.e. being observed performing on stage or on camera. The observer’s condition (if the stage or camera performance by the partner is a necessity for sexual arousal) is scoptophilia, [scopophilia], not voyeurism.

[From Psychiatric Dictionary, 7th ed., by Robert J. Campbell]

autassasinophilia: Stage-managing one’s own murder, reported as an extreme form of masochism.

autonepiophilia: A perversion in which sexual arousal and orgasm are dependent on the subject acting as or being treated as an infant. The subject may need to wear diapers, for example, in order to become sexually aroused.

autonumerophile, autonumerophilist: A love of collecting car numbers. A collector of car numbers (license-plate numbers).

autophilous, autophilia, autophily: 1. In biology, self-pollinating. 2. In psychiatry, self-love; narcissism.

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