selenophile

English

Etymology

From seleno- +‎ -phile, literally “moon-lover”.

Noun

selenophile (plural selenophiles)

1. (botany, chemistry) Something which tends to absorb selenium.
   • 1991 January 1, Craig J. Hawker, Athena Philippides, Alan R. Battersby, “Selenomethylpyrroles: Their Use for Synthesis of Dipyrrylmethanes (Dipyrrins), Tripyranes and Bilanes”, in Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 1, →DOI:

     Accordingly, it seemed probable that by having X in Scheme 1 as SeR, then a selenophile such as copper(1) would promote the C-C bond formation as in Scheme 2 to yield the required systems.

   • 1998 March 23, Robert Alan Lewis, Lewis' Dictionary of Toxicology, CRC-Press, →ISBN, page 127:

     The poisonvetches are obligate selenophiles and the selenium content accounts for their chief toxic effects.

2. (informal) A person who is fond of or interested in the Moon.
   • 2008 September 2, Madeleine L'Engle, A Ring of Endless Light, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), →ISBN, page 303:

     A selenophile, that's me. Are you a selenophile or a heliophile? A lunar lover or a solar lover?

   • 2019 February 19, Wilder Davies, “Tonight's Super Snow Moon Will Be the Biggest Supermoon of 2019. Here's How to Watch”, in Time‎^[1]:

     Good news for sky watchers and selenophiles, tonight’s full moon is set to be the biggest and brightest of the year, according to NASA.

   • 2022 May 13, Joe Mario Pedersen, “Blood Flower Moon blossoms over Orlando during total lunar eclipse & full moon”, in Orlando Sentinel‎^[2]:

     The celestial phenomenon is a must-see event for selenophiles hoping to see a total lunar eclipse and May’s full moon.

Derived terms

• selenophilic

Further reading

• “selenophile”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.