anthropophilicadj.
/ˌanθrəpəˈfɪlɪk/, U.S. /ˌænθrəpəˈfɪlɪk/ Biology.
Of an organism: feeding, living, or growing preferentially on humans; tending to infest or afflict humans particularly. Also: relating to such organisms. Contrasted with zoophilic adj. 3.
ΚΠ
1931 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 108 496 Up to the present P[hlebotomus] papatasii is the only anthropophilic sandfly recorded from the Sudan.
1949 M. F. Boyd Malariology 1 xxvi. 666/2 A[nopheles] sundaicus [is] the most highly anthropophilic of the vectors in that region.
1970 G. Rebell & D. Taplin Dermatophytes (ed. 2) 4 Anthropophilic dermatophytes are those which are primarily parasitic on man.
1988 Q. N. Myrvik & R. S. Weiser Fund. Med. Bacteriol. & Mycol. (ed. 2) xxxix. 535 Whereas a few species are soil saprophytes (geophilic group) and some have animals as their natural hosts (zoophilic group), most have man as their natural host (anthropophilic group).
2004 Nature 15 Jan. 212/2 This compound is a component of human sweat that..may contribute to the anthropophilic host-seeking behaviour of this mosquito.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1931