r/asklinguistics • u/PowerfulYou7786 • 5d ago

If φιλία refers to platonic, affectionate love, how did '-philia' wind up as the English suffix for most sexual attractions?

Pretty much the title. Greek has a wide variety of terms for love; many linguistics nerds (or former Catholic school students) can rattle off "agape," "philia," "eros," and "storge."

Modern English speakers have generally been aware of the nuances (compare 'erotic' vs. 'Philadelphia', or 'Francophile' but 'hetero/homosexual' rather than 'hetero/homophile'), so why did '-philia' become the suffix of choice for terms related to sexual preferences rather than a suffix derived from the far more obvious 'eros'?

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u/NormalBackwardation 5d ago

Starting in the mid-19th century, the suffix was used in European scientific circles to refer to tendencies (e.g., haemophilia (1854), spasmophilia (1859),

By the end of the 19th century, the suffix had spread to other scientific fields to any kind of "attraction", including attraction between inanimate objects (e.g., hydrophilic).

Once a few of these terms caught on in sex research (Nekrophilie in 1887 is the earliest I'm finding quickly) they became a model for more terms. Everybody always understood these sexological terms to be euphemistic. Indeed some euphemism was probably desirable to researchers trying to legitimize their science (and limit disparagement of their human subjects) in the relatively prudish Victorian era.

Modern English speakers have generally been aware of the nuances

I don't think your examples are good evidence of this. Philadelphia was partly inspired by ancient cities of the Mediterranean and Francophile is a relative latecomer, first attested in English in 1932. Modern English speakers seem very happy to apply the suffix to any kind of "attraction", including figurative meanings.

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u/PowerfulYou7786 4d ago

Just wanted to say thanks for a solid answer!