‘Phile’ is an interesting word root (which is used as suffix and prefix as well). This root is super-interesting, for it is one which is based on ‘love’ and talks only of ‘love’. Well, love is one thing that fascinates mankind and you would be surprised that we have built literally a small vocabulary databank based on this root. Let’s dig into some of these words:
2. Acidophile: An acidophile is an organism which can thrive under acidic conditions. For example there are many kinds of bacteria or fungi which are capable of surviving under acidic conditions. Those are called acidophiles.
3. Necrophile: A necrophile is a person who feels an attractive pull towards dead bodies. The origin of the word is Greek where ‘Necro’ is used for the dead.
4. Paedophile: A paedophile is a person who gets sexually attracted towards children. This word can also be used for someone who sexually abuses children. The origin is from Greek where ‘Paedo’ is used for a boy or child.
5. Electrophile: This is a scientific term used for a chemical compound or a functional group which readily accepts electrons.
6. Caninophile: A caninophile is a person who loves dogs. The word is formed using the word ‘Canine’ for dogs as dogs are often called canines and ‘phile’ for love.
7. Foodophile: A foodophile is a person who is really fond of eating or loves to eat. The word root is ‘food’. This kind of a person is also called a ‘glutton’.
8. Videophile: This term is used for a person who values high-definition and otherwise high-quality video. The word has been formed from the word ‘video’ and ‘phile’.
9. Retrophile: This term is used for a person who loves something which is from or characteristic of the past. The word ‘Retro’ here signifies the link with the past.
10. Androphile: An androphile is a person of any gender, who loves men, or who is sexually attracted to men. The word is formed from ‘Andro’ which means ‘man’ and ‘phile’ which means love.
Post contributed by Archit Sehgal.
