The Greek

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

''-phil-'' originates from the Greek word meaning "love". For example,

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

(along with the Greek root ''-soph-'' meaning "wisdom") is the study of human customs and the significance of life. One of the most common uses of the root ''-phil-'' is with philias. A

philia ''Philia'' (; ) is one of the four ancient Greek words for love, alongside '' storge'', '' agape'' and '' eros''. In Aristotle's ''Nicomachean Ethics'', philia is usually translated as "friendship" or affection. The complete opposite is cal ...

is the

love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

or obsession with a particular thing or subject. The suffix ''-philia'' is used to specify the love or obsession with something more specific. It is somewhat

antonym In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

ic to '' -phobia''. Philias can be biological (e.g. rhizophilia, preference for living on roots) or chemical (e.g. chromophilous, materials that stain easily), or can be a hobby/liking (e.g. icthyophilia, love for fish). ' () as a Greek word for love refers to brotherly love, including

friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

and

affection Affection or fondness is a "disposition or state of mind or body" commonly linked to a feeling or type of love. It has led to multiple branches in philosophy and psychology that discuss emotion, disease, influence, and state of being. Often, " ...

. This contrasts to the Greek terms

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

, or sexual/

romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a Interpersonal attraction, strong attraction towards another person, and the Courtship, courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant ...

, and

agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for uman beingsand of uman beingsfor God". This is in contrast to , brotherly love, or , self-love, as it embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists rega ...

, or detached, spiritual love. However, 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 ''-phile'' (or, in a few cases, ''-philiac'') applies to someone who has one of these philia. It is the antonym of ''-phobe''. ''Phil-'' (''philo-'') may also be used as a prefix with a similar meaning.

Words that use ''-phil-''

Biology

* Acidophilia: preference of acidic conditions * Alkaliphilia: preference of alkaline environments * Anthophilia: attraction to flowers * Anthropophile: attracted to humans (e.g., parasites) *

Anemophily Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including grasses, sedges, and rushes. Other common anemophilous ...

: a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind *

Capnophile Capnophiles are microorganisms that thrive in the presence of high concentrations of carbon dioxide (). Some capnophiles may have a metabolic requirement for carbon dioxide, while others merely compete more successfully for resources under these ...

: microorganism that thrives in the presence of high concentrations of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

* Cryophilia: preference for cold environments, climates, objects and low temperatures; e.g., ''

Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family. About 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mo ...

cryophila'' (Snow Protea) * Dacryphilia: attraction to tears * Dendrophilia: preference of trees or other plants * Entomophilous: adapted for pollination by insects * Extremophilia: preference of living extremal conditions for some microorganisms * Geophilia: preferring to organisms that prefer the soil * Halophilia: attraction to salt or salt-water * Heliophilia: attraction to sunlight * Hydrophilia: attraction to water * Hyperthermophilia: organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments * Limnophilia: preference of ponds or marshes * Lithophilia: preference or affinity to stones * Mesophilia: preference of moderate temperatures in microorganisms * Microaerophilia: organisms that can tolerate or require environments containing low levels of oxygen * Myrmecophilia: love for the ants * Nemophilia: love of the woods and forests *

Necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...

: an attraction to the dead *

Neutrophile A neutrophile is a neutrophilic organism that thrives in a neutral pH environment between 6.5 and 7.5. Environment The pH of the environment can support growth or hinder neutrophilic organisms. When the pH is within the microbe's range, they g ...

: 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: affinity to large amounts of rainfall * Petrophilia: preference of living or spending time in rocky areas * Photophilia: preference of living or spending time in lighted conditions * Pluviophilia: affinity to rain *

Psammophile A psammophile ( ) is a plant or animal that prefers or thrives in sandy areas. Plant psammophiles are also known as psammophytes. They thrive in places such as the Arabian Peninsula and the Sahara and also the dunes of coastal regions. Because of ...

: a plant loving sandy areas * Psychrophilia: preference of cold temperatures * Rheophilia: preference of living in running water * Sciaphilia: 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: preference of seasonal extremes of climate *

Trichophilia Hair fetishism, also known as hair partialism and trichophilia, is a partialism in which a person sees hair most commonly, head hair as particularly erotic and sexually arousing. Arousal may occur from seeing or touching hair, whether head h ...

: an attraction to hair or fur * Xenophilia: an affection for unknown, foreign objects, or people * 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

Electrophile In chemistry, an electrophile is a chemical species that forms bonds with nucleophiles by accepting an electron pair. Because electrophiles accept electrons, they are Lewis acids. Most electrophiles are positively Electric charge, charged, have an ...

: a chemical species that forms bonds with nucleophiles by accepting a pair of electrons *

Hydrophilic A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are n ...

: (of a substance) having a tendency to interact with or be dissolved by water and other polar substances *

Lipophilic Lipophilicity (from Greek language, Greek λίπος "fat" and :wikt:φίλος, φίλος "friendly") is the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. Such compounds are c ...

: solubility or solvability of a substance with lipids *

: (of a substance) in microfluidics, enriching on channel walls instead of in the middle of the channels (e.g. air bubbles) *

Nucleophile In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they are ...

: a chemical species that donates an electron pair to form a chemical bond. Antonym: electrophile

Hobbies

* Audiophilia: love of high-fidelity sound reproduction * Arctophilia: love of

teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

s; especially, an interest in collecting teddy bears *

Bibliophilia A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, au ...

: love of books * Cartophilia: love of

map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

s *

Cinephilia Cinephilia ( ; also cinemaphilia or filmophilia) is the term used to refer to a passionate interest in films, film theory, and film criticism. The term is a portmanteau of the words '' cinema'' and '' philia'', one of the four ancient Greek words ...

: love of cinema and film *

Philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...

: the study of stamps and postal history and other related items * Glossophilia: love of languages (synonym for

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

) * 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 Neophile or Neophiliac, a term popularised by author Robert Anton Wilson, is a personality type characterized by a strong affinity for novelty. The term was used earlier by Christopher Booker in his 1969 book '' The Neophiliacs'', and by J. D. Sa ...

: 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 A videophile is one who is concerned with achieving high-quality results in the recording and playback of movies, TV programs, and other means of visual media. Criteria Similar to audiophile values, videophile values may be applied at all stages ...

: person who is concerned with achieving high-quality results in the recording and playback of movies, TV programs, etc

National or ethnic

Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. In some cases, Anglophilia refers to an individual's appreciation of English history and traditional English cultural ico ...

: a non-English person who is extremely fond of all things English. Antonym: Anglophobe * Australophile: a fan of Australian culture * Austrophile: a fan of Austrian culture *

Europhile A Europhile is a person who is fond of, admires, or loves European culture, society, history, food, music etc.European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Antonym:

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

* Fennophile: a fan of Finnish culture *

Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...

or Gallophile: a fan of French culture. Antonym: Francophobe *

Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of Culture of Germany, German culture, Germans, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German ...

or Teutophile: a fan of German culture. Antonyms: Germanophobe and teutophobia * Hellenophile: a fan of Greek culture (i.e. someone prone to

philhellenism Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron, Charles Nicolas Fabvier and Richard Church to a ...

) * Hibernophile: a lover of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Irish culture The culture of Ireland includes the Irish art, art, Music of Ireland, music, Irish dance, dance, Irish mythology, folklore, Irish clothing, traditional clothing, Irish language, language, Irish literature, literature, Irish cuisine, cuisine ...

* Indophile: a fan of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

* Italophile: a fan of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Antonym: Italophobia *

Japanophile Japanophilia is a strong interest in Japanese culture, people, and history. In Japanese, the term for Japanophile is , with "" equivalent to the English prefix 'pro-' and "", meaning "Japan" (as in the word for Japan ). The term was first used ...

: a non-Japanese person with a strong interest in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Japanese culture Japanese culture has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral ...

. Antonym: Japanophobe * Judeophile: a lover of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, ...

. Antonyms: Judeophobe and

antisemite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

* Kartvelophile: an interest for Georgian culture *

Negrophilia The word ''negrophilia'' is derived from the French ''négrophilie'' that means "love of the Negro". It was a term that avant-garde artists used among themselves to describe their fetishization of Black cultures. Its origins were concurrent wi ...

: a term used in the 1920s and 30s for the interest in Europe for African and African-American culture * Persophilia: a fan of Iranian culture * Russophilia: love of Russia and Russians. Antonym: Russophobe ** Galician Russophilia was a pro-Russian movement in Galicia and Lodomeria in the late 19th Century * Sinophile: a non-Chinese person with a strong interest in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...

. Antonym:

Sinophobe Anti-Chinese sentiment (also referred to as Sinophobia) is the fear or dislike of Chinese people or Chinese culture. It is frequently directed at Chinese minorities which live outside Greater China and it involves immigration, nationalism, p ...

* Slavophile: a fan of Slavic culture *

Suecophile A suecophile is someone, typically a non-Swede, with a great interest in the Swedish culture, culture and Swedish language, language of Sweden. The word swedophile is sometimed used with the same meaning, likely based on the English "Sweden" in s ...

: someone with a great interest in the Swedish language and culture * Turkophile: a fan of Turkey and Turkish culture

Sexual paraphilias

List of paraphilias Paraphilias are sexual interests in objects, situations, or individuals that are atypical. The American Psychiatric Association, in its DSM-5, ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition'' (DSM), draws a distinction between paraphilias ( ...

Paraphilia A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human ...

(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 Sexual fetishism is a sexual fixation on an object or a body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychoso ...

Other

* Biophilia hypothesis * Erotophilia: a personality trait which assesses an individual's disposition to respond to sexual cues *

Haemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...

: a disease relating to blood clotting *

Homophile Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been '' sodomite'', '' Sapphic'', '' Uranian or Urning'', '' homop ...

: a term used to refer to gay people or those who supported

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

, prior to

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

and other

LGBT social movements Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their ...

. It was proposed as an alternative to homosexual, that would have a more positive connotation, before the word "gay" became dedicated for this purpose * 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 Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity (social science), identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, Locality (settlement), locality, gender, o ...

among certain people and a love of certain aspects of such a place

Words that start with ''phil-''

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Philanderer Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

* Philandry *

Philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Philhellenism Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron, Charles Nicolas Fabvier and Richard Church to a ...

: the love of Greek culture (this may also be called hellenophilia) *

Philogyny Philogyny is love of, admiration for, or respect for women or girls. It is the antonym of ''misogyny''. It is a form of philanthropy and philosophy that empowers and celebrates women at an equal status as men, thus dismantling the social roles ...

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

Philomath A philomath () is a lover of learning and studying. The term is from Greek (; "beloved", "loving", as in philosophy or philanthropy) and , (, ; "to learn", as in polymath). Philomathy is similar to, but distinguished from, philosophy in that ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

* Phillumenism *

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...