Meaning & use
selenophile
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablerare
A person who loves the moon and enjoys watching it, learning about it or being out under its light.
Grammar: A rare word, mainly used playfully in writing about astronomy or nature.
Patterns
- a selenophile who does something
As a lifelong selenophile, she never missed a full moon.
The selenophile set up a telescope on the balcony.
Selenophiles gather on the hill to watch lunar eclipses.
Word forms
| plural | selenophiles |
|---|
Common combinations
- devoted selenophile
- The devoted selenophile kept a moon diary for years.
- self-confessed selenophile
- He is a self-confessed selenophile.
- selenophile blogger
- A selenophile blogger posted photos of the eclipse.
- fellow selenophile
- I met a fellow selenophile at the observatory.
Synonyms and how they differ
- moon lover
- Moon lover is the plain English phrase and sounds less learned than selenophile.
- stargazer
- A stargazer watches all celestial objects, while a selenophile is devoted to the moon alone.
- astronomer
- An astronomer studies the heavens professionally, whereas a selenophile simply loves the moon.
Word family
- selenophilia noun
- love of the moon
- selenology noun
- the scientific study of the moon
- selenography noun
- the mapping of the moon's surface
- lunar adjective
- relating to the moon
Commonly confused: selenophile or selenium?
selenophile vs selenium
Selenium is a chemical element (symbol Se) that shares the Greek root selene but has no connection to loving the moon.
Practice
A selenophile would most likely spend a clear night ______.
Choose one answer.
A selenophile loves the moon, so watching it rise fits best. The other options involve other subjects and not specifically moon-loving.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “selenophile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.