*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -phile

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰil- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *bʰil-o-s Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos)bor. Latin -philalbor. English -phile Learned borrowing from Latin -phila, from Ancient Greek φ

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Forming nouns and adjectives meaning "loving", "friendly", or "friend".

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰil- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *bʰil-o-s Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos)bor. Latin -philalbor. English -phile Learned borrowing from Latin -phila, from Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos, “dear, beloved”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:-phila<id:loving>",
        "id": "loving",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰil-\nProto-Indo-European *-os\nProto-Indo-European *bʰil-o-s\nAncient Greek φίλος (phílos)bor.\nLatin -philalbor.\nEnglish -phile\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"loving\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"dear\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*bʰil-o-s\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰil-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"athematic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-os\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"φίλος\", \"gloss\" : \"dear, beloved\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-phila\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-phile\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"loving\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-phile\" id=\"English:_loving\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "lbor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-phila"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Latin -phila"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "φίλος",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dear, beloved"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos, “dear, beloved”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:-phila<id:loving>",
        "id": "loving",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰil-\nProto-Indo-European *-os\nProto-Indo-European *bʰil-o-s\nAncient Greek φίλος (phílos)bor.\nLatin -philalbor.\nEnglish -phile"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*bʰil-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰil-"
    ],
    [
      "*-os",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-os#Proto-Indo-European:_athematic"
    ],
    [
      "φίλος",
      "φίλος#Ancient_Greek:_dear"
    ],
    [
      "-phila",
      "-phila#Latin:_loving"
    ],
    [
      "-phila",
      "-phila#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "φίλος",
      "φίλος#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Forming nouns and adjectives meaning \"loving\", \"friendly\", or \"friend\"."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "fe6eda409f8d9e5482728ed7259e12455ac0420844c508ebc705f1a0ac2c5492",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a95374380cb7edcc8bb450daedf739e5fb4abf0ac91c65e6f29fae5c116653b9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 312140
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -phile →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LXBoaWxl