Phile is French word which has been developed from Medieval Latin word philus, the word philus was coined from Greek word philos. When a word is suffixed with phile it refers to having strong liking to something, having fondness for something. I believe that every person on this planet is unique and has fondness for something. God is very innovative, therefore HE creates original human masterpiece comprising you, me, he, she and after all, all of us! God doesn’t believe in cut, copy and paste, he creates originals and every single person has something different about them. What determines people’s preferences is a fuzzy, elusive process. It’s very difficult to pin down reasons why somebody likes a particular thing. We like all kinds of things music, fashion, literature, art, food, nature, art
efacts, sea, ocean, moon, sun, trees, forest and many more things. I list here below some words suffixed with phile:
Lexophile: Is a lover of words, especially in word games, puzzles, anagrams, palindromes, etc. Typically, a lexophile derives pleasure from using various words in his communication; he/she appreciates the shade, pronunciation surrounding different words. A lexophile is alert to synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and homonyms (two or more words having same spelling but different meaning) often using them for smart effect, sometimes in humour. Lexophiles are fast with learning new diction; they are witty with words and are great communicators.
Autophile: is one who loves himself/herself. An autophile is overly self-involved, and often useless and selfish. Autophile has been repurposed for car enthusiasts too. The word is used for car freaks. The car freaks are too much in love with their vehicle. They go beyond the normalcy: they will wash, clean, paint their vehicle…… they can go beyond the maintenance of their car. They keep spending on their cars buying new spares, adding extra gadgets, in short, they over do for their cars.
Astrophile: Is a person who loves solitude, being alone. These people love their own company. They don’t crave for company of others. They are independent, they are enigmatic, and they are free people. They don’t like to get bogged down by others. They are happy being alone; they enjoy experiencing new places and making new friends around the world. They enjoy doing things by themselves. It’s fun to hear them talk about their lives, and their philosophies. They bring different things, different ideas to table.
Bibliophile: The word “bibliophile” exactly means a lover of books (biblio). The term is often used to refer to people who simply like to read. They go on collecting books; they spend generously on purchasing books. But, the most precise interpretation of “bibliophile” is someone who loves books particularly for its shape, size, colour of the cover, font of the book etc. etc. They like to feel the book. I know of people who cover their books, index them, make a library of their books and don’t like to share them with others. Of course, most bibliophiles are great readers; they collect books because they love the narratives in them. For them books are like big investments and valuables.
Ceraunophile: Is a person who loves thunder and lightning. There people who love to dance outside in open during thunderstorms. They love them because they feel that there is nothing in the world that can equal the power of a thunderstorm. It’s an awe factor for them. They love to take pictures of lightning strikes. Ceraunophiles find majesty, power, and beauty in thunderstorms. They find something exhilarating about the rumbling thunder, powerful lightning, and the cleansing effect of heavy rain.
Chionophile: Is a person who loves cold weather and the snow fall. People have a love-hate relationship with chilled cold weather. Chinophiles like when the first snowfall hits, and the surrounding becomes snowy. They love gaping at the sky in wonder; they feel obsessed by the Earth’s ability to turn water into these icy sprinkles. They enjoy the blast of cold air when they open their doors and windows. They love to fill their lungs with the cold fresh air. They enjoy the tranquillity of walking along a quiet, frozen beach.
Clinophile: Is a lover of just sleeping in bed or reclining. Nothing interests a clinophile more than just sleeping in bed. They sleep because they feel that sleep will take all of those problems away from them. They don’t get bored with sleeping. They not only sleep in their bed, they sleep and have nap anywhere. They love their pajamas and blankets more than anything. No matter what has happened during the day, good or bad, stressful or not, sleeping always makes them feel better. They believe that more sleep is always better than less sleep. In short, sleeping is their hobby. Call it beauty sleep, nap, snoozing, slumber, siesta, whatever you want, sleep is clinophile’s one and only true love. It just makes everything right for them.
Cynophile: Is a person who loves canines, a dog lover. Cynophiles love their pet dogs in the same way as they do their children, and the feeling is mutual. Researchers have found that the same hormone, oxytocin, spikes in both human and canine brains when a dog is gazing at its owner. Oxytocin is known to play a strong role in triggering feelings of unconditional love and protection when parents and children look into each other’s eyes or embrace. So the findings suggest that owners love their pets in the same way as family members, and dogs return their devoted affection. Cynophile shops variety of food, dresses for his canine. He/she adjusts life according to the canine’s time table. Many of us are cynophiles. I am one!
Discophile: Is a person who studies and collects phonograph records. When such a person gets into a particular band or artist they track down every song that artist has ever done, irrespective of whether he/she actually likes the song or not. They spend their big booty on buying CD, LP, record from open market, black market anywhere. They treat their records like their big investment.
Heliophile: Is a lover of the sun. A person who loves sunlight, likes to stay out in open, he/she likes to soak in the sunlight. They spend their maximum time in sun. They love the sunlight so much, that they avoid being indoors during the daytime.
Limnophile: Is a person who loves lakes. They love to stay on lakes. Lake living has its perks, and water activities are definitely on the top of the list. The lake living provides them with an avenue to enjoy fun and also to entertain the best events such as swimming, kayaking, sailing, fishing and boating. Water gives relaxation to mind and body. It gives comforting feeling to the limnophiles. The limophiles usually stay near the lakes and water bodies.
Nyctophile: Is a person who loves night or darkness. It’s a person who prefers being awake during the late hours of the night, someone who enjoys staying awake all night. Nyctophilia is a Greek word. It means, “Friend of the dark”. They love the darkness, it makes them happy. Nictophiles feel a sense of relief to sit in the dark and listen to the sound of the clock ticking by. A nictophile likes darkness because there is less visual stimulus that allows him/her to rest and concentrate better. In a dark room, nothing commands the attention of mind; one can’t see anything which makes it easy to rest the mind.
Oenophile: Is a person, who enjoys wines, he is usually a connoisseur. They are devoted to wine. They follow strict traditions of consumption and appreciation of wines. In a general sense however, oenophilia simply refers to the enjoyment of wine. But, in true sense, oenophiles are also known as wine connoisseurs of variety of grape wine. They are people who understand value of wines and are collectors of it. They appreciate grape wines from particular regions. They study the age of the wine, the type of it, the manufacturing process. While most oenophiles are hobbyists, some are also professionals like vintners (wine-merchants), sommeliers (wine waiter) or a wine taster for their living.
Pluviophile: Is a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days. They find comfort in rains. They feel relaxed and are at a state of peace with themselves while soaking in rains. They don’t feel gloomy when it rains, but instead they find joy and happiness during rainy seasons. If they are not soaking, they sit by the window and watch the rainfall. They feel enthused and feel creative when it rains.
Retrophile: Is a person who loves artefacts and aesthetics from the past. The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloguing, displaying, storing, curing the artefacts. The retrophiles have a special kind of awe for the oldest types of creativity and intelligence. Usually these are individual collectors. Their collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obviously in the nature and scope of the objects contained, but also in purpose and presentation. For them, the scope of collecting is unlimited, as expressed in the old adage, “If something exists, somebody somewhere collects them”.
Selenophile: Is a person who loves the moon. For a selenophile the moon is beautiful, it’s calming and it just transforms everything. It is more brightly seen in night that’s why these people love to see its milky light, it enthuses them. Some great poets wrote lovely poems on moon light. Some have written great books. There are people who have recovered from their illnesses just by going out and sitting in moonlight. After all, moon is the symbol of love.
Thalassophile: Is a lover of the sea, someone who loves the sea and ocean. The thalassophiles love sitting by the seaside. Do you know that the Victorian doctors used to prescribe the “sea air” as a cure for an assortment of ailments? Using seawater for medical purposes even has a name: thalassotherapy. In 1769, a popular British doctor Richard Russell published a dissertation arguing for using seawater in “diseases of the glands”, in which he included scurvy, jaundice, leprosy and glandular consumption, which was the name for glandular fever at the time. He prescribed drinking seawater as well as swimming in it. There are thalassophiles who spend maximum days in a year by the seaside. They thrive by being by side of sea.
So, which phile are you?
