“Phile” denotes fondness for a specific thing. It’s a combing form meaning “lover of” or “enthusiast.” It’s from the Latin “philus” or the Greek “phila,” for “dear or beloved” when used in a proper names such as Philadelphia, which means the city of brotherly love from the Ancient Greek philos (beloved, dear) and adelphós (brother, brotherly).
Two other combing forms, Phila and philiac are related to phile. For example, a bibliophile is a person who collects or has a great love of books. This month I’ve selected ten interesting philes for you. I’ll select ten more for you next month. How many of these words do you know?
1. Amychophile – A person who loves being scratched.
2. Arctophile – A person who collects or has a great fondness/love of teddy bears.
3. Ceraunophile – A person who loves thunder and lightning.
4. Chionophile – A person who loves cold weather and snow.
5. Ergophile – A person who loves to work.
6. Javaphile – A person who loves to drink coffee.
7. Logophile – A person who loves words - also called a word lover or philologos.
8. Melophile – A person who loves music.
9. Pluviophile – A person who loves rain. One who finds joy and peace of mind on rainy days.
10. Stigmatophile – A person who loves beards.
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