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 antonym

Antonym

In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not...

ic to suffixes -phob-

-phob-

The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, disabling fear as a mental disorder , in chemistry to describe chemical aversions , in biology to describe organisms that dislike certain conditions ,...

.

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

Philia

Philia

Philia is one of the four ancient Greek words for love.Philia in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is usually translated as 'friendship', though in fact his use of the term is much broader.- Aristotle's view :...

(φιλία) as an ancient Greek word for love

Greek words for love

There are several Greek words for love, as the Greek language distinguishes how the word is used. Ancient Greek has four distinct words for love: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē. However, as with other languages, it has been historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words...

 refers to brotherly love, including friendship

Friendship

Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...

 and affection

Affection

Affection or fondness is a "disposition or rare state of mind or body" that is often associated with a feeling or type of love. It has given rise to a number of branches of philosophy and psychology concerning: emotion ; disease; influence; state of being ; and state of mind...

. This contrast to the ancient Greek terms Eros

Eros (love)

Eros is one of the four words in Ancient Greek which can be rendered into English as “love”. The other three are storge, philia and agape...

, or sexual

Human sexual behavior

Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...

/romantic love

Romantic love

Romance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....

, and agapē

Agape

Agape is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term...

, or detached, spiritual love. 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 or something with one of these attractions.

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

The less common suffix "-phily" is synonymous with "-philia".

There are five major areas of usage of this suffix: biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, sexology

Sexology

Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism....

, chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

/physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, hobbies

Hobby

A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...

, and attitude to specific nations, with occasional coinage in other areas.

Biology

• acidophilia
  Acidophile (organisms)
  Acidophilic organisms are those that thrive under highly acidic conditions . These organisms can be found in different branches of the tree of life, including Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryotes...
  
   / acidophile
  Acidophile (organisms)
  Acidophilic organisms are those that thrive under highly acidic conditions . These organisms can be found in different branches of the tree of life, including Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryotes...
  
  : Preference of acidic conditions
• alkaliphilia / alkaliphile
  Alkaliphile
  Alkaliphiles are microbes classified as extremophiles that thrive in alkaline environments with a pH of 9 to 11 such as playa lakes and carbonate-rich soils...
  
  : Preference of alkaline environments.
• anthophilia / anthophile / anthophilic: Attraction to flowers.
• anthrophile / anthrophilic: Attracted to humans (e.g., parasites).
• anemophily
  Anemophily
  Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Anemophilous plants may be either gymnosperms or angiosperms ....
  
  : a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind.
• cryophilia / cryophilic / cryophile: Preference for cold environments, climates, objects and low temperatures; e.g., Protea cryophila
  Protea
  Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
  
  (Snow Protea).
• dendrophilia
  Dendrophilia (paraphilia)
  Dendrophilia literally means "love of trees". The term may sometimes refer to a paraphilia in which people are sexually attracted to or sexually aroused by trees. This may involve sexual contact or veneration as phallic symbols or both....
  
   / dendrophilic / dendrophile: Preference of trees or other plants.
• entomophilous: Adapted for pollination by insects.
• extremophilia / extremophile
  Extremophile
  An extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles...
  
  : Preference of living extremal conditions for some microorganisms.
• geophilia / geophilic
  Geophilic
  Geophillic means soil loving or preferring the soil. This term is usually used when referring to certain types of fungi or molds that live in the soil. Many of these organisms are usually recovered from the soil but occasionally infect humans and animals...
  
   / Geophile Referring to organisms that prefer the soil.
• halophilia / halophile
  Halophile
  Halophiles are extremophile organisms that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt. The name comes from the Greek for "salt-loving". While the term is perhaps most often applied to some halophiles classified into the Archaea domain, there are also bacterial halophiles and some...
  
  : Attraction/attracted to salt or salt-water.
• heliophilia / heliophile: Attraction/attracted to sunlight.
• hydrophilia
  Hydrophile
  A hydrophile, from the Greek "water" and φιλια "love," is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to, and tends to be dissolved by water. A hydrophilic molecule or portion of a molecule is one that has a tendency to interact with or be dissolved by, water and other polar substances...
  
  : Attraction to water.
• hyperthermophilia / hyperthermophile
  Hyperthermophile
  A hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot environments— from 60 degrees C upwards. An optimal temperature for the existence of hyperthermophiles is above 80°C . Hyperthermophiles are a subset of extremophiles, micro-organisms within the domain Archaea, although some bacteria...
  
   / hyperthermophilic: Describing organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments.
• limnophilia / limnophile / limnophilic: Preference of ponds or marshes.
• lithophilia / lithophile
  Lithophile
  Lithophiles are micro-organisms that can live within the pore interstices of sedimentary and even igneous rocks to depths of several kilometers....
  
   / litophilic: Preference/affinity to stones.
• mesophilia / mesophile
  Mesophile
  A mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, typically between 25 and 40 °C...
  
  : Preference of moderate temperatures in microorganisms.
• microaerophilia / microaerophile
  Microaerophile
  A microaerophile is a microorganism that requires oxygen to survive, but requires environments containing lower levels of oxygen than are present in the atmosphere . Many microphiles are also capnophiles, as they require an elevated concentration of carbon dioxide. In the laboratory they can be...
  
   / Microaerophilic: of organisms that can tolerate or require environments containing low levels of oxygen.
• myrmecophilia: in names of orchids of genus myrmecophila
  Myrmecophila
  Myrmecophila is a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. Species in this genus are either ephiphytic or lithophytic in their growth habit. Their slightly scented flowers are produced on pole like growths that extend upwards from 1 to 4 meters high and take up to 4 months to develop...
  
  , "love of ants"
• nemophilia: Love of the woods/forests, in the name of the genus Nemophilia of flower
  Flower
  A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
  
  s.
• necrophilia
  Necrophilia
  Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
  
   necrophile: attraction to the dead
• nyctophilia: A preference for darkness or night.
• ombrophilia / ombrophile: Affinity/affined to large amounts of rainfall.
• petrophilia / petrophile
  Petrophile
  Petrophile is a genus of evergreen shrubs, in the protea family Proteaceae, which are endemic to Australia. Commonly known as Conebushes, they typically have prickly, divided foliage and produce prominently-displayed pink, yellow or cream flowers followed by grey, conical fruits...
  
   / 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 (psammophyte).
• psychrophilia / psychrophile
  Psychrophile
  Psychrophiles or cryophiles are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in cold temperatures, ranging from −15°C to +10°C. Temperatures as low as −15°C are found in pockets of very salty water surrounded by sea ice. They can be contrasted with thermophiles, which...
  
  : Preference of cold temperatures.
• rheophilia: Preference of living in running water.
• rhizophilia: Preference of living on roots.
• sciaphilia or 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.
• xerophilia: Love of living or spending time in very dry conditions.
• xylophilia: Love of wood.
• zoophily
  Zoophily
  Zoophily is a form of pollination whereby pollen is transferred by vertebrates, particularly by hummingbirds and other birds, and bats, but also by monkeys, marsupials, lemurs, bears, rabbits, deer, rodents, lizards and other animals...
  
  : a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by animals.

Chemistry and Physics

• chromophilous: Staining easily
• electrophile
  Electrophile
  In general electrophiles are positively charged species that are attracted to an electron rich centre. In chemistry, an electrophile is a reagent attracted to electrons that participates in a chemical reaction by accepting an electron pair in order to bond to a nucleophile...
  
  : A substance having an affinity for electrons or negative charge
• lipophilic
  Lipophilic
  Lipophilicity, , refers to the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. These non-polar solvents are themselves lipophilic — the axiom that like dissolves like generally holds true...
  
  : (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
  Nucleophile
  A nucleophile is a species that donates an electron-pair to an electrophile to form a chemical bond in a reaction. All molecules or ions with a free pair of electrons can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they are by definition Lewis bases.Nucleophilic describes the...
  
  : A substance having an affinity for positive charge; antonym of electrophile.
• hydrophilic: (of a substance) having a tendency to interact with or be dissolved by water and other polar substances

Hobbies

• audiophilia
  Audiophile
  An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
  
  : Love of high-fidelity sound reproduction
• arctophilia: Love of teddy bear
  Teddy bear
  The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
  
  s; especially, an interest in collecting teddy bears
• bibliophilia
  Bibliophilia
  Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a bibliophile is an individual who loves books. A bookworm is someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading. The -ia-suffixed form "bibliophilia" is sometimes considered to be an incorrect usage; the older...
  
  : Love of books
• cinephilia: Love of cinema and film
• glossophilia
  Glossophilia
  Glossophilia is a love of language, be it foreign or native. The term refers to people with a deep and passionate love for language and the structure of language. Glossophiles often study deeply literary terminology as well as grammar, punctuation and language structure. It is often the case that a...
  
  : Love of languages
• horolophilia: Love of timepieces, specifically wristwatches.
• 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
  Oenophilia
  Oenophilia of wine ). An oenophile is a lover of wine. In the strictest sense, oenophilia describes a disciplined devotion to wine, accompanying strict traditions of consumption and appreciation. In a general sense however, oenophilia simply refers to the enjoyment of wine, often by laymen....
  
  : Love of wine
• ornithophilia: Love of birds
• schediophilia: being attracted to cartoon or animated characters.
• taphophilia
  Taphophilia
  Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries. The singular term is a taphophile.Taphophilia involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of deaths...
  
  : Love of graves, cemeteries and funerals
• technophilia
  Technophilia
  Technophilia refers generally to a strong enthusiasm for technology, especially new technologies such as personal computers, the Internet, mobile phones and home cinema...
  
  : Love of technology
• turophilia/turophile: Love of cheese / connoisseur
  Connoisseur
  A connoisseur is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts, cuisines, or an expert judge in matters of taste.Modern connoisseurship must be seen along with museums, art galleries and "the cult of originality"...
  
   of cheese

National

• Anglophile: a non-English person who is extremely fond of all things English
  England
  England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
  
  . Antonym: Anglophobe
• Cymrophile: a fan of Welsh culture (alternative: Cambrophile). Antonym: Cymrophobe
• Francophile
  Francophile
  Is a person with a positive predisposition or interest toward the government, culture, history, or people of France. This could include France itself and its history, the French language, French cuisine, literature, etc...
  
  , a fan of French culture. Antonym: Francophobe
• Europhile
  Europhile
  A europhile is a person who is fond of, admires, or even loves European culture, society, history, food, etc. In politics, it may be used to imply Pro-Europeanism, or support for the European Union, often disapprovingly...
  
  : a person who wants to increase cooperation between governments within the European Union
  European Union
  The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
  
  . Antonym: Eurosceptic
  EuroSceptic
  EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
  
  
• Germanophile
  Germanophile
  A Germanophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people, and Germany in general, exhibiting as it were German nationalism in spite of not being an ethnic German or a German citizen. Its opposite is Germanophobia...
  
  , a fan of German culture. Antonym: Germanophobe
• Hellenophile, a fan of Greek culture
• Hibernophile
  Hibernophile
  A Hibernophile is a person who is fond of Irish culture, Irish language and Ireland in general. Its antonym is Hibernophobe.The term is often used in particular for people all over the world who ostensibly base their business, political, or social practices on like of or admiration for Irish models...
  
  : a lover of Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
   or Irish culture
  Culture of Ireland
  This article is about the modern culture of Ireland and the Irish people. It includes customs and traditions, language, music, art, literature, folklore, cuisine and sport associated with Ireland and Irish people today. However, the culture of the people living in Ireland is not homogeneous...
  
  .
• Indophile, a fan of India
  India
  India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
  
  
• Islamophile, a fan of Islam
  Islam
  Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
  
   and Islamic culture
• Japanophile
  Japanophile
  Japanophilia is an interest in, or love of, Japan and anything Japanese; its opposite is Japanophobia. One who has such an interest or love is a Japanophile...
  
  : a non-Japanese person with a strong interest in Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
   or Japanese culture
  Culture of Japan
  The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
  
  . Antonym: Japanophobe.
• Lusophile
  Lusophilia
  Lusophilia is the love of, or friendship or sympathy toward, Portugal and/or Portuguese things. The word derives from Luso- plus -philia...
  
  : a fan of Portugal
  Portugal
  Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
  
   or Portuguese things. Antonym: Lusophobe
  Lusophobia
  Lusophobia is a hostility toward Portugal, a nation occupying the west of the Iberian Peninsula in south-western Europe, its Portuguese people or the Portuguese language and culture. Like Lusitanic, the word derives from Lusitania, the Ancient Roman province that comprised what is nowadays Central...
  
  
• Russophilia
  Russophilia
  Russophilia is the love of Russia and/or Russians. The term is used in two basic contexts: in international politics and in cultural context. "Russophilia" and "Russophilic" are the terms used to denote pro-Russian sentiments, usually in politics and literature...
  
  : love of Russia and/or Russians. Antonym: Russophobe.
• Pakophile, a fan of Pakistan
  Pakistan
  Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
  
  
• Semitophile, love of Jews and Judaism. Antonym: Anti-semitism
  Anti-Semitism
  Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
  
  
• Sinophile
  Sinophile
  A Sinophile is a person who demonstrates a strong interest in aspects of Chinese culture or its people...
  
  : a non-Chinese person with a strong interest in China
  China
  Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
  
   or Chinese culture
  Culture of China
  Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
  
  . Antonym: Sinophobe

Other

• biophilia hypothesis
  Biophilia Hypothesis
  The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book entitled Biophilia.- Love of living systems :...
  
  
• haemophilia
  Haemophilia
  Haemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A is the most common form of the disorder, present in about 1 in 5,000–10,000 male births...
  
  : A disease relating to blood clotting
• See List of paraphilias
• retrophilia: Love of things of the past
• theophilia: Love of a god

Prefix “phil-”

• Philately
  Philately
  Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
  
  
• Phillumenism
  Phillumenism
  Phillumeny is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc.-Etymology:...
  
  
• Philosophy
  Philosophy
  Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
  
  
• Philology
  Philology
  Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
  
  
• Philomath
  Philomath
  A philomath + Greek manthanein, math- ) is a lover of learning. It is similar to but distinguished from philosophy in that "soph," the latter suffix, specifies "wisdom" or "knowledge."...
  
  
• Philanthropy
  Philanthropy
  Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
  
  
• Philanderer
• Philadelphia
• Philhellenism
  Philhellenism
  Philhellenism was an intellectual fashion prominent at the turn of the 19th century, that led Europeans like Lord Byron or Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire...
  
  , the love of Greek culture