topophilia

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos, “place”) +‎ -philia. Coined by British-American poet W. H. Auden in 1947, used by French phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard (1958), and made popular by Chinese-American geographer Yi-Fu Tuan in his essay and book Topophilia (1961 and 1974).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌtɒpəˈfɪliə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

topophilia (uncountable)

1. A strong sense of place, often combined with a sense of cultural identity.

   What I feel towards my grandmother's house could be described as topophilia.

   • 2021 January 14, Arthur C. Brooks, “Find the Place You Love. Then Move There.”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     Topophilia might not be associated with your childhood home, however. For me, all synesthetic tendencies take me not to Seattle but to Barcelona, the city where I lived in my 20s, where I got married, and the only place I have returned to year after year (except for 2020, due to the pandemic).

Related terms

• topophilic

Translations

Translations

• Italian: topofilia f