-phil-

Template:Table Suffixes Suffixes with the common part -phil- (-phile, -philia, -philic) are used to specify some kind of attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something. They are antonymic to suffixes -phob-.

Phil- may also be used as a prefix with a similar meaning.

Philia (φιλία) as a Greek word for love refers to brotherly love, including friendship and affection. This contrasts to the Greek terms Eros, or sexual/romantic love, and agapē, or detached, spiritual love. However, it should be noted that English usage differs in some cases from the etymological use, and several of these words refer in English not to brotherly love but to sexual attraction.

The suffix "-philia" refers to the attraction itself.

The suffix "-phile" (or, in a few cases, -philiac) applies to someone or something with one of these attractions.

The suffix "-philic" describes the property of being attracted to something.

There are five major areas of usage of this suffix: biology, sexology, chemistry/physics, hobbies, and attitude to specific nations, with occasional coinage in other areas.

Biology

• acidophilia/acidophile: Preference of acidic conditions
• alkaliphilia/alkaliphile: Preference of alkaline environments
• ammophilia/ammophile: Preference of sand and sandy places
• anthophilia/anthophile/anthophilic: Attraction to flowers
• cryophilia/cryophilic/cryophile: Preference for cold environments, climates, objects and low temperatures; e.g., Protea cryophila (Snow Protea).
• entomophilous: Adapted for pollination by insects
• Extremophilia/Extremophile: Preference of living extremal conditions for some microorganisms
• Geophilia/Geophilic/Geophile Referring to organisms that prefer the soil
• halophilia/halophile: Attraction/attracted to salt or salt-water
• heliophilia/heliophile: Attraction/attracted to sunlight
• hydrophilia: Attraction to water
• Hyperthermophilia/Hyperthermophile/Hyperthermophilic: Describing organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments
• limnophilia/limnophile/limnophilic: Preference of ponds or marshes
• lithophilia/lithophile/litophilic: Preference/affinity to stones
• mesophilia/mesophile: Preference of moderate temperatures in microorganisms
• Microaerophilia/Microaerophile/Microaerophilic: of organisms that can tolerate or require environments containing low levels of oxygen
• Myrmecophilia: in names of orchids of genus myrmecophila, "love of ants"
• Nemophilia: Love of the woods/forests, in the name of the genus Nemophilia of flowers
• nyctophilia: A preference for darkness or night.
• Ombrophilia/ombrophile: Affinity/affined to large amounts of rainfall
• petrophilia/petrophile/petrophilic: Preference of living or spending time in rocky areas
• photophilia/photophile/photophilic: Preference of living or spending time in lighted conditions
• psammophile: A plant loving sandy areas
• psychrophilia/Psychrophile: Preference of cold temperatures
• rheophilia: Preference of living in running water
• rhizophilia: Preference of living on roots
• thermophilia: Love of high temperatures; thriving in high temperatures (e.g. microbes)
• tropophilia/ tropophile/ tropophilous: Preference of seasonal extremes of climate
• xerophilia: Love of living or spending time in very dry conditions
• xylophilia: Love of wood

Chemistry/physics

• chromophilous: Staining easily
• electrophile: A substance having an affinity for electrons or negative charge
• lipophilic: A substance that is attracted to lipids, as in cell membranes.
• nucleophile: A substance having an affinity for positive charge; antyonym of electrophile.

Hobbies

• bibliophilia: Love of books
• biophilia: Love of nature
• glossophilia: Love of languages
• hippophilia/hippophile: Attraction/attracted to horses
• Hoplophilia/Hoplophile: Attraction/attracted to firearms and weaponry
• logophilia: Love of words - Logophiles may be interested in word games, such as crosswords, or Scrabble, and in the extreme, derive enjoyment from reading things commonly given less notice, such as labels
• metrophilia: Love of the metro rail or subway systems
• neophilia: Love of the latest novelties and trends
• oenophilia: Love of wine
• ophiophilia: Love of snakes
• ornithophilia: Love of birds
• technophilia: Love of technology
• turophilia/turophile: Love of cheese / connoisseur of cheese

National

• Anglophile: a non-English person who is extremely fond of all things English. Antonymous term: Anglophobia
• Europhile: a person who wants to increase cooperation between governments within the European Union. Antonymous term: Euroscepticism
• Japanophile: a non-Japanese person with a strong interest in Japan or Japanese culture. Antonym: Japanophobia.
• Russophilia: Love of Russia and/or Russians. Antonym: Russophobia.

Sexology

• acrotomophilia: Love of amputees
• androphilia: Love of men
• homoandrophilia: Female fetish for gay men
• andromimetophilia: Love of women dressed as men
• apodysophilia: Desire to undress, see also nudism
• asiaphilia: Love of Asian culture and/or women/men
• autogynephilia: Love of oneself as a woman
• coprophilia: Sexual pleasure from feces
• Ephebophilia: Sexual attraction towards adolescents
• forniphilia: Love of making furniture from humans in bondage.
• gerontophilia: Sexual attraction towards the elderly
• Gynophilia: Love of women
• Homogynophilia: Male fetish for true lesbians
• harpaxophilia: Sexual arousal from being the victim of a robbery or burglary
• klismaphilia: Sexual pleasure from enemas
• macrophilia: Sexual attraction to giants and large things
• maiesiophilia: Sexual attraction to childbirth or pregnant women
• microphilia: Sexual attraction to small things and things of smaller size
• mysophilia: A paraphilia relating to soiled or dirty material
• necrophilia: Sexual attraction to corpses
• nepiophilia: The same as infantophilia: sexual attraction to children between the age of 0 - 3 yrs.
• paraphilia: Any sexual attraction considered unusual or taboo
• pedophilia: Sexual attraction to children
• trichophilia: Love of hair
• vorarephilia: Sexual attraction to being eaten and/or eating someone
• zoophilia: Sexual attraction to animals

Other

• apotemnophilia: Desire to amputate a healthy limb
• audiophilia: Love of recorded sound
• claustrophilia: Love of enclosed spaces. Antonym: claustrophobia.
• hemophilia: A disease relating to blood clotting
• lygophilia: Love of darkness
• retrophilia: Love of things of the past
• thalassophilia: Love of seas
• theophilia: Love of a god
• xenophilia: Love of foreign and foreigners. Antonym: xenophobia.

Prefix "phil-"

• Philately
• Phillumenism
• Philosophy
• Philology
• Philanthropy