-phobe
suffix/-foʊb/
Etymology From French -phobe, from Latin -phobus, from Attic Greek -φόβος (-phóbos), combining form of φόβος (phóbos), ablaut variant of φέβεσθαι (phébesthai), middle infinitive of φέβομαι (phébomai), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰegʷ. Cognates include Russian бегать (begatʹ, “run, flee”), Slovak bežať (“run”), Polish biec (“run”), Lithuanian bėgti (“run”), Albanian dëboj (“throw out, drive away, expel, banish”). Compare German -phob.
1
Morpheme Used to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing.
- claustrophobe
- Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2025, page 76:
2
Morpheme Used to form nouns denoting a person who hates or dislikes a type of person, thing, etc.
- homophobe
- Derived terms
- phobe