ailurophile

English

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

• (phile-terminal)
  • aelurophile
  • ailourophile
  • elurophile
• (phil-terminal)
  • aelurophil
  • ailourophil
  • ailurophil
  • elurophil

Etymology

From ailuro- (“cat”) +‎ -phile (“lover”), from Ancient Greek αἴλουρος (aílouros, “cat”) + φίλος (phílos, “dear, beloved”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: īlyo͝oəʹrəfīl', IPA^(key): /aɪˈljʊəɹəˌfaɪl/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: īlo͝oʹrəfīl', ālo͝oʹrəfīl', IPA^(key): /aɪˈlʊɹəˌfaɪl/, /eɪˈlʊɹəˌfaɪl/

Noun

ailurophile (plural ailurophiles)

1. A person with ailurophilia; a cat-lover.
   • 1971, E. F. Bleiler, “Introduction”, in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, Montague Rhodes James, page 4:

     He played the piano well, was an enthusiastic ailurophile, and persistently played solitaire while talking and writing.

   • 2001, Woodeene Koenig-Bricker, Praying With the Saints: Making Their Prayers Your Own, page 192:

     When the archbishop would send Philip on an assignment, he would leave the cat in the care of the archbishop, who apparently was not an ailurophile.

   • 2002, Carol Shields, Unless, page 195:

     Alicia is not a serious ailurophile, however; she neglects Chestnut, and Chestnut knows it.

   • 2005, Dan Rice, Bengal Cats: Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Breeding, Health Care and Behavior, page 53:

     Your identity as an ailurophile (cat lover) is confirmed by cat hair on your clothes, but that is a distinction that most of us will gladly forfeit.

Synonyms

• cataholic
• catlover
• catophile
• felophile
• felinophile

Antonyms

• ailurophobe

Hyponyms

• cat lady

Related terms

• ailurophilia
• ailurophiliac
• ailurophilic

Translations

cat-lover

• Estonian: kassiarmastaja
• French: ailurophile (fr) m or f, ailourophile m or f
• Greek: αιλουρόφιλος m (ailourófilos), αιλουρόφιλη f (ailourófili)
• Italian: ailurofilo m, ailurofila f, elurofilo m, elurofila f, gattofilo (it) m, gattofila f
• Japanese: 愛猫家 (ja) (あいびょうか, aibyōka)
• Latvian: kaķu mīļotājs m, kaķu mīļotāja f
• Polish: kociarz (pl) m, kociara (pl) f
• Portuguese: ailurófilo m, elurófilo m
• Swedish: ailurofil c
• Turkish: kedisever

References

• “ailurophil(e)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]

French

Etymology

Coined parallel with or based on English ailurophile, based on Ancient Greek elements; see the English term for more.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ailurophile m or f by sense (plural ailurophiles)

1. ailurophile

Adjective

ailurophile (plural ailurophiles)

1. ailurophile

Further reading

• “ailurophile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.