Philic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. having a pronounced attraction or love for particular things marked by a strong emotional connection and enthusiasm for specific concepts or activities showing a passionate fondness or loyalty towards various subjects or entities
2. Displaying a notable preference or attraction toward certain things or ideas with enthusiasm
3. Characterized by a strong liking or fondness for specific subjects or activities

Etymology: "-philic" is a combining form, not a free word, and it comes from the Greek "philos", meaning "loving" or "dear", a root that also gave English "philosophy" and "Philadelphia." The Greek adjective "philikos" was built on that root and passed into Latin and then into scientific and medical vocabulary, where scholars used it to name things with a strong affinity for something. The suffix works as the second element of compounds, so a word ending in it describes what a thing is drawn to. The pattern was productive in modern scientific English. Chemists began using forms like "hydrophilic" (water-attracting) to describe substances that dissolve in or bond with water, and biologists applied the same pattern to organisms, as in "thermophilic" for heat-loving microbes. Because the element was a neoclassical coinage rather than an ancient word, it made it easy to invent new terms: "Anglophile" for an admirer of English culture and "bibliophile" for a book lover followed the same model.