arctophile

English

WOTD – 20 November 2024

Etymology

PIE word
*h₂ŕ̥tḱos

A young arctophile with a teddy bear.

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄρκτος (árktos, “bear”) + English -phile (suffix denoting a person who is friendly towards or loves something).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːktəfaɪl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹktəˌfaɪl/
• Rhymes: -ɑːktəfaɪl
• Hyphenation: arc‧to‧phile

Noun

arctophile (plural arctophiles)

1. Someone who has a fondness for teddy bears, usually a collector of them. [from 1960s]
   • 1969 October 15, Geoffrey Halliwell, “The bear facts”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7:

     On the other hand I am appalled by the ways these "arctophiles" seem to feel for their childhood friends not an informed, reminiscent emotion, but exactly what they felt at 6 with no development at all.

Related terms

• arctophilia
• arctophily

Translations

someone who has a fondness for teddy bears, usually a collector of them

• Finnish: nallefriikki
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

See also

• ursophile

Further reading

• teddy bear on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “arctophile, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• carpholite, cartophile