-phil-
The suffix -philia is used to specify the love or obsession with something (philia), as well as affinity or attraction to something. It is antonymic to -phobia. Template:Table Suffixes
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 agape, 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 -phile (or, in a few cases, -philiac) applies to someone who has one of these attractions. It is the antonym of -phobic.
What follows is a list of words that have the suffix -philia.
A
- acidophilia/acidophile: Preference of acidic conditions
- acrotomophilia: Love of amputees
- alkaliphilia/alkaliphile: Preference of alkaline environments
- ammophilia/ammophile: Preference of sand and sandy places
- androphilia: Love of men
- andromimetophilia: Love of women dressed as men
- Anglophilia: Love of English and/or England (and often British and/or Britain)
- anthophilia/anthophile/anthophilic: Attraction to flowers
- apodysophilia: Desire to undress, see also nudism
- apotemnophilia: Desire to amputate a healthy limb
- asiaphilia: Love of Asian culture and/or women/men
- audiophilia: Love of recorded sound
- autogynephilia: Love of oneself as a woman
B
- bibliophilia: Love of books
- biophilia: Love of nature
C
- claustrophilia: Love of enclosed spaces
- coprophilia: Sexual pleasure from feces
- cryophilia/cryophilic/cryophile: Preference for cold environments, climates, objects and low temperatures; e.g., Protea cryophila (Snow Protea).
D
- dendrophilia: Love of trees
E
- Ephebophilia: Sexual attraction towards adolescents
- Europhilia: Love of Europe and/or Europeans
- Extremophilia/Extremophile: Preference of living extremal conditions for some microorganisms
F
- Francophilia, Gallophilia: Love of France and/or the French
- forniphilia: Love of making furniture from humans in bondage.
G
- Geophilia/Geophilic/Geophile Referring to organisms that prefer the soil
- Germanophilia: Love of Germany and/or German
- gerontophilia: Sexual attraction towards the elderly
- glossophilia: Love of languages
- Gynophilia: Love of women
H
- halophilia/halophile: Attraction/attracted to salt or salt-water
- heliophilia/heliophile: Attraction/attracted to sunlight
- hippophilia/hippophile: Attraction/attracted to horses
- Hoplophilia/Hoplophile: Attraction/attracted to firearms and weaponry
- hydrophilia: Attraction to water
- Hyperthermophilia/Hyperthermophile/Hyperthermophilic: Describing organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments
I
- Iconophilia: Love of images or icons
J
- Japonophilia: Love of Japan
- JoMommaphilia: Love of Jo' Momma.
K
- klismaphilia: Sexual pleasure from enemas
L
- limnophilia/limnophile/limnophilic: Preference of ponds or marshes
- lithophilia/lithophile/litophilic: Preference/affinity to stones
- 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
- lygophilia: Love of darkness
M
- macrophilia: Sexual attraction to giants and large things
- maiesiophilia: Sexual attraction to childbirth or pregnant women
- mesophilia/mesophile: Preference of moderate temperatures in microorganisms
- metrophilia: Love of the metro rail or subway systems
- Microaerophilia/Microaerophile/Microaerophilic: of organisms that can tolerate or require environments containing low levels of oxygen
- microphilia: Sexual attraction to small things and things of smaller size
- mysophilia: A paraphilia relating to soiled or dirty material
- myrmecophilia: Love of ants
N
- necrophilia: Sexual attraction to corpses
- negrophilia: Love of black people
- Nemophilia: Love of the woods/forests, in the name of the genus Nemophilia of flowers
- neophilia: Love of the latest novelties and trends
- nepiophilia: The same as infantophilia: sexual attraction to children between the age of 0 - 3 yrs.
- nyctophilia: A preference for darkness or night.
O
- Oenophilia: Love of wine; also the name of a business
- Oombrophilia/ombrophile: Affinity/affined to large amounts of rainfall
- ophiophilia: Love of snakes
- ornithophilia: Love of birds
- osmophilia: Love of various smells
P
- paraphilia: Any sexual attraction considered unusual or taboo
- pedophilia: Sexual attraction to children
- petrophilia/petrophile/petrophilic: Preference of living or spending time in rocky areas
- photophilia/photophile/photophilic: Preference of living or spending time in lighted conditions
- phytophilia: Love of plants
- psychrophilia/Psychrophile: Preference of cold temperatures
Q
R
- retrophilia: Love of things of the past
- rheophilia: Love of living or spending time in running water
- rhinophilia: Love of noses
- rhizophilia: Love of living or spending time on roots
- Russophilia: Love of Russia and/or Russians
S
- Sinophilia: Love of China and/or the Chinese
T
- technophilia: Love of technology
- thalassophilia: Love of seas
- theophilia: Love of a God
- thermophilia: Love of high temperaes; thriving in high temperatures (e.g. microbes)
- trichophilia: Love of hair
- tropophilia/ tropophile/ tropophilous: Preference of seasonal extremes of climate
- turophilia/turophile:
X
- xenophilia: Love of foreigners (in science-fiction, can also mean sexual attraction to aliens)
- xerophilia: Love of living or spending time in very dry conditions
- xylophilia: Love of wood
Z
- zoophilia: Love of non-human animals
Other words
There are a number of words that contain the same -philia suffix, but which are not a human love for something:
- chromophilous: Staining easily
- electrophile: A substance having an affinity for electrons or negative charge
- entomophilous: Adapted for pollination by insects
- hemophilia: A disease relating to blood clotting
- nucleophile:A substance having an affinity for positive charge; antyonym of electrophile.
- lipophilic: A substance that is attracted to lipids, as in cell membranes.
- psammophilia: A plant loving sandy areas