English

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Etymology

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From potamo- +‎ -phile.

Noun

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potamophile (plural potamophiles)

  1. That which prefers or occurs only in freshwaters.
    • 1964, James B. Lackey, “The Ecology of Plankton Algae”, in Daniel F. Jackson, editor, Algae and Man: Based on lectures presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute July 22 - August 11, 1962; Louisville, Kentucky, New York, N.Y.: Plenum Press, section “Plankton Habitats”, page 218:
      Strombomonas is apparently a potamophile alga, but does occur in still waters.
    • 1968, Dennis E. Buetow, editor, The Biology of Euglena: General Biology and Ultrastructure, New York, N.Y., London: Academic Press, page 36:
      Strombomonas species, which appear to be potamophiles, may be abundant farther downstream.
    • 1975, University of Washington Publications in Fisheries, page 107:
      The first attempt at the classification of parasites of fishes by their reaction to salinity was made by Heitz (1918). He had divided the parasites into four groups: (1) the marine, occurring only in the sea; (2) the potamophile--only in freshwaters; (3) the marine-potamophile occurring more often in the sea than in freshwaters; (4) the potamophile-marine found more often in the sea than in freshwaters.
  2. (rare) One who loves rivers.
    • 1964, Country Life, page 1239:
      Yachting enthusiasts, potamophiles should request further detailed information and illustrated brochure from: []
    • 1993, Chapman Pincher, Pastoral Symphony: A Bumpkin’s Tribute to Country Joys, Swan Hill Press, page 150:
      With further experience she quickly became a potamophile, to coin a needed term for those of us who are besotted by rivers.
    • 2002 March 27, “Word of the Day: the adjective ‘potamophilous’”, in The Dispatch, 124th year, number 238, Moline, Ill., page B4:
      But you don’t have to be a scientist to be a potamophile (someone who loves rivers). Anyone can exercise his potamophily (love of rivers) and his legs along the bank of his favorite river.
    • 2013 June 13, Craig O’Donnell, “River organizations hold pair of parties”, in Kent County News, volume 68, number 24, Chestertown, Md., page A6:
      If a wine-lover is called an oenophile, what’s a river enthusiast? It’s not a word you see very often. Cambridge University Press will tell you a “potamophile” mayfly prefers “slow-current lowland waters.” Sounds about right for the Eastern Shore. And so potamophiles are in luck, with two celebrations of the rivers defining the county’s borders in one weekend.

Synonyms

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