pedophile
/ˈpɛd.ə.faɪl/
noun
Origin
Ancient Greek
paidophilia — love of children
Overview
Meaning Now
- A person who has a sexual preference for children.
- A person suffering from pedophilia (a psychiatric disorder involving intense sexual interest in prepubescent children).
Literal older meaning
child-lover
Language path
Ancient Greek → English
Earliest form
pedophile
Earliest period
Late 19th century
Journey
The term emerged within the development of modern psychiatry and sexology in the late 1800s as clinicians sought to categorize human sexual behavior and deviance.
Evolution
- Ancient Greek
pais (paid-) + philia
“child + love/affection”
In Ancient Greek, 'philia' referred to friendship or affection, not necessarily sexual attraction.
- Late 19th Century
pedophilia
“sexual attraction to children”
Adopted into medical and psychological terminology to describe a specific paraphilia.
Connections
Word parts
pedo-
root
child
-phile
suffix
lover of
Related across languages
French
pédophile
pedophile
Spanish
pedófilo
pedophile
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Related to pedophile
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.