Mesophily

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A preference for moderate temperatures by certain organisms or plants that thrive in conditions which are neither too hot nor too cold
2. The characteristic of biological entities that favor intermediate thermal environments for optimal growth and reproduction
3. The tendency of certain species to inhabit and flourish in climates with moderate heat levels, avoiding extremes of temperature

Etymology: Mesophily is a modern scientific coinage, built from two Greek elements: "mesos", meaning "middle", and "philia", meaning "love" or "fondness". Biologists and ecologists use it to describe organisms that thrive at moderate temperatures, neither very cold nor very hot. The sense it names is a comparison: a mesophile is fond of the middle range in the way a thermophile is fond of heat. The pattern is a standard one in scientific vocabulary, where Greek roots are combined to name a newly observed trait. The ancient Greeks themselves had no such word, since the concept of temperature preference only became a subject of systematic study in the modern period. The "-phile" ending appears in many similar coinages, such as "thermophile" for heat-loving organisms and "psychrophile" for cold-loving ones, all formed in the same way from Greek elements.