Teutophile

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who greatly admires Germany, its people, language, or culture, often to the point of favoring them above others
2. A person with a strong fondness for German nations and their traditions, customs, and way of life
3. An individual who holds German people and their achievements in particularly high esteem and openly shows that regard

Etymology: Teutophile was coined in English in the 19th century from the Greek "philos", meaning lover, and "Teuton", a name for the Germanic peoples. The Teutons themselves were an ancient people, named in Roman sources, and the term "Teuton" came to stand for Germans in general in English. The pairing follows the pattern of words like "Anglophile" and "Francophile", where a national or ethnic name is combined with the Greek suffix "-phile". The "-phile" element is the useful key here. It turns a people into an object of affection, so a teutophile is someone who loves Teutonic things in the same way an anglophile loves England. The word has always carried a faint edge of excess, since the meaning given in standard references stresses favoring Germany over others, which is why the term is often used with some suspicion rather than as pure praise.

Synonyms: Germanophile

Antonyms: teutophobe