Prefix · love · affinity
Means "love" or "strong affinity for": philosophy, philanthropy, philharmonic, philology.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Phil- (also -phile as a suffix) comes from Greek "philein" (to love, to have an affinity for) and expresses intellectual love or deep fondness. Philosophy = love of wisdom (phil- + sophos); philanthropy = love of humanity (phil- + anthropos); philharmonic = love of music (phil- + harmonia); philology = love of words and texts (phil- + logos). Spanish equivalent "filo-": filosofía, filantropía, filología, filarmonía.
Phil- appears at the start of words (philosophy, philharmonic) but also as the suffix -phile for people with a strong fondness: bibliophile (lover of books), anglophile (lover of English culture), cinephile (lover of cinema). These have Spanish equivalents in -filo: bibliófilo, anglófilo, cinéfilo. Both the prefix and suffix share the same Greek root.
Combines with Greek roots to express love or deep affinity for something:
Pronunciation: /fɪl/. Spanish equivalent "filo-": filosofía (philosophy), filantropía (philanthropy), filología (philology), filarmonía (philharmonic). As a suffix: -phile in English = -filo in Spanish.
phil-/fɪl/
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"Philosophy" (phil- = love + sophos = wisdom): the intellectual pursuit of fundamental truths about existence, knowledge, ethics, and reason. "Philanthropy" (phil- = love + anthropos = human being): the desire to promote human welfare through large-scale donations or charitable action. A philosopher (filósofo) thinks; a philanthropist (filántropo) gives.
A trick to remember it
Phil- = love, strong affinity. Spanish equivalent "filo-": filosofía (philosophy), filantropía (philanthropy), filología (philology), filarmonía (philharmonic). As suffix -phile = -filo in Spanish: bibliophile = bibliófilo, cinephile = cinéfilo.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What is the difference between a "philosopher" and a "philanthropist"?
The prefix phil- means "love" or "strong affinity for": philosophy, philanthropy, philharmonic, philology. In Spanish it usually maps to filo-.
The prefix phil- is pronounced /fɪl/. For example, "philosophy".
"osophy" becomes "philosophy". It is a typical example of the phil- prefix.
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