-phily

American  

1. a combining form used in the formation of compound words that have the general sense “love or liking” (homophily,notaphily ); used especially in biological and chemical terms (hydrophily ).

---

Usage

What does -phily ​mean? The combining form -phily is used like a suffix meaning "love" or "liking." It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology and chemistry. The form -phily is made from a combination of two combining forms. The first is -phile, from Greek phílos, meaning "dear, beloved." The second form is the suffix -y, which ultimately comes from Greek -ia, an ending used to form abstract nouns. While -phily doesn’t have any variants, it is closely related to six other combining forms: -phile, -philia, -philiac, -philic, -philism, and -philous. Want to know more? Check out our Words that Use articles for each form.

Etymology

Origin of -phily

From -phil(e) ( def. ) + -y ³ ( def. ); see also -philia ( def. )