-phil-
Suffixes with the common part -phil- (-phile, -philia, -phily, -philic) are used to specify some kind of attraction or affinity to something. They are antonymic to suffixes -phob-.
Phil- (philo-) may also be used as a prefix with a similar meaning.
The suffix and prefix are derived from the Ancient Greek word philia (φιλία), "love, affection".
Biology
- Acidophilia, acidophile: preference of acidic conditions. Antonyms: Acidophobia and acidophobe
- Alkaliphilia, alkaliphile: preference of alkaline environments
- Anthophilia, anthophile, anthophilic: attraction to flowers
- Anthrophile, anthrophilic: attracted to humans (e.g., parasites)
- Anemophily: a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind
- Capnophile: microorganism that thrives in the presence of high concentrations of carbon dioxide
- Cryophilia, cryophilic, cryophile: preference for cold environments, climates, objects and low temperatures; e.g., Protea cryophila (Snow Protea)
- Dacryphilia: attraction to tears
- Dendrophilia, dendrophilic, dendrophile: preference of trees or other plants
- Entomophilous: adapted for pollination by insects
- Extremophilia, extremophile: preference of living extremal conditions for some microorganisms
- Geophilia, geophilic, geophile: preferring to organisms that prefer the soil
- Halophilia, halophile: attraction to salt or salt-water
- Heliophilia, heliophile: attraction to sunlight
- Hydrophilia: attraction to water
- Hyperthermophilia, hyperthermophile, hyperthermophilic: organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments
- Limnophilia, limnophile, limnophilic: preference of ponds or marshes
- Lithophilia, lithophile, litophilic: preference or affinity to stones
- Mesophilia, mesophile: preference of moderate temperatures in microorganisms
- Microaerophilia, microaerophile, microaerophilic: organisms that can tolerate or require environments containing low levels of oxygen
- Myrmecophilia: The names of orchids of genus myrmecophila, "love of ants"
- Nemophilia: love of the woods and forests, in the name of the genus Nemophilia of flowers
- Necrophilia, necrophiliac: an attraction to the dead
- Neutrophile: organism that thrives in a neutral pH environment
- Nyctophilia: an attraction to darkness or night; finding relaxation or comfort in the darkness. Preferring nighttime activities to daytime activities.
- Ombrophilia, ombrophile: affinity 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
- Pluviophilia, pluviophile, pluviophilic: affinity to rain
- Psammophile, psammophyte: a plant loving sandy areas
- Psychrophilia, psychrophile: preference of cold temperatures
- Rheophilia: preference of living in running water
- Rhizophilia: preference of living on roots
- Sciaphilia, skiaphilia: preference of living in shady or dark areas (as opposed to photophilia)
- Thermophilia: love of high temperatures; thriving in high temperatures (e.g. microbes)
- Tropophilia, tropophile, tropophilous: preference of seasonal extremes of climate
- Trichophilia: an attraction to hair or fur
- Vorarephilia: sexual attraction to being eaten by or eating humans
- Xenophilia: an affection for unknown, foreign objects, or people. Antonym: Xenophobia
- Xerophilia: love of living or spending time in very dry conditions
- Xylophilia: love of wood
- Zoophily: a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by animals
Chemistry and physics
- Chromophilous: staining easily
- Electrophile: a substance having an affinity for electrons or negative charge
- Hydrophilic: (of a substance) having a tendency to interact with or be dissolved by water and other polar substances
- Lipophilic: (of a substance) attracted to lipids, as in cell membranes
- Litophilic: (of a substance) in microfluidics, enriching on channel walls instead of in the middle of the channels (e.g. air bubbles)
- Nucleophile: a substance having an affinity for positive charge. Antonym: electrophile
Hobbies
- Audiophilia: love of high-fidelity sound reproduction
- Arctophilia: love of teddy bears; especially, an interest in collecting teddy bears
- Bibliophilia: love of books
- Cartophilia: love of maps
- Cinephilia: love of cinema and film
- Philately: the study of stamps and postal history and other related items
- Glossophilia: love of languages
- Icthyophilia: love of fish
- 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
- Ornithophilia: love of birds
- Taphophilia: love of graves, cemeteries and funerals
- Technophilia: love of technology
- Videophile: person who is concerned with achieving high-quality results in the recording and playback of movies, TV programs, etc.
National or ethnic
- Anglophile: a non-English person who is extremely fond of all things English. Antonym: Anglophobe
- Austrophile: a fan of Austrian culture
- Celtophile: a fan of Celtic culture
- Europhile: a person who wants to increase cooperation between governments within the European Union. Antonym: Eurosceptic
- Fennophile: a fan of Finnish culture
- Francophile or Gallophile: a fan of French culture. Antonym: Francophobe
- Germanophile or Teutophile: a fan of German culture. Antonyms: Germanophobe and teutophobia
- Hellenophile: a fan of Greek culture (i.e. someone prone to philhellenism)
- Hibernophile: a lover of Ireland or Irish culture
- Hispanophile: a lover of Spanish (Spain) culture and people
- Indophile: a fan of India
- Italophile: a fan of Italy. Antonym: Italophobia
- Japanophile: a non-Japanese person with a strong interest in Japan or Japanese culture. Antonym: Japanophobe
- Judeophile: a lover of Jews or Jewish culture. Antonyms: Judeophobe and antisemite
- Kartvelophile: an interest for Georgian culture
- Negrophilia: a term used in the 1920s and 30s for the interest in Europe for African and African-American culture
- Russophilia: love of Russia and Russians. Antonym: Russophobe
- Sinophile: a non-Chinese person with a strong interest in China or Chinese culture. Antonym: Sinophobe
- Slavophile: a fan of Slavic culture
- Suecophile: someone with a great interest in the Swedish language and culture
Sexual paraphilias
- List of paraphilias
- Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. Such attraction may be labeled sexual fetishism.
Other
- Biophilia hypothesis
- Erotophilia: a personality trait which assesses an individual's disposition to respond to sexual cues
- Haemophilia: a disease relating to blood clotting
- Homophile: a term used to refer to gay people or those who supported homosexuality, prior to gay liberation and other LGBT social movements
- Pluviophile: love of the rain
- Retrophilia: love of things of the past
- Theophilia: love of a god
- Topophilia: a strong sense of place, which often becomes mixed with the sense of cultural identity among certain people and a love of certain aspects of such a place
Prefix phil-
- Philadelphia
- Philanderer
- Philandry
- Philanthropy
- Philately
- Philhellenism: the love of Greek culture (this may also be called hellenophilia)
- Philogyny
- Philology
- Philomath
- Philosophy
- Phillumenism