Ailurophobe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /aɪˈljʊəɹəˌfəʊb/

Definitions

1. A person with an intense fear of cats exhibits an overwhelming aversion toward those animals
2. This individual experiences significant anxiety or distress in the presence of felines
3. A person suffering from this phobia finds it difficult to interact with or be near cats without feeling panicked

Etymology: Ailurophobe is a word built entirely from Greek parts. The first, "ailuro-", comes from Greek "ailouros", meaning "cat," and the second, "-phobe," comes from "phobos," meaning "fear." Put together, they name someone who dreads cats, and the "-phobe" ending is the same one found in words like "technophobe" and "xenophobe," where it marks a person with a fear of the thing named before it. The "-phobe" element is the older and more widely used part of the word, appearing in English medical and psychological vocabulary from the nineteenth century onward, while "ailuro-" is a far rarer combining form that scholars and writers reached for when they wanted a precise classical-sounding term for cat-related matters. Because the word is a deliberate formation from classical roots rather than an everyday inheritance, it reads as a learned coinage, the sort of word more likely to appear in a dictionary, a lecture or a witty essay than in ordinary conversation.