-phile

The combining form -phile is used like a suffix meaning “lover of” or “enthusiast of.” It is often used in scientific and everyday terms, especially in biology and psychology.

The form -phile comes from Greek -philos, meaning “dear, beloved.” The Latin translation, cārus, is the source of words such as caress, charity, and cherish.

What are variants of -phile?

In some rare instances in scientific terms, -phile drops its final -e- to become -phil, as in chromophil.

Related to -phile are two other combining forms: -philia and -philiac. Want to know more? Check out our Words that Use articles for each form.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -phile is audiophile, “a person who is especially interested in high-fidelity sound reproduction.”

The audio- part of the word probably looks familiar; it has a variety of meanings, including “sound reproduction,” from Latin audīre, meaning “to hear.” The form -phile means “lover of,” so audiophile literally translates to “lover of hearing.”

What are some words that use the combining form -phile?

• atmophile
• bibliophile
• cinephile
• Europhile
• halophile
• homophile
• mesophile
• necrophile
• pedophile (using the equivalent form of -phile in Greek)

What are some other forms that -phile may be commonly confused with?

• -philia
• -philic
• -philous
• -phyll

The combining form biblio- means “book.” With this in mind, what kind of person is a bibliophile?