A friend recently sent me an email in which she referred to me as a cynophilist. I had no idea if she was complimenting or insulting me, so off I scurried to my trusty dictionary. Here’s what I discovered:
noun cy·noph·i·list \ sə̇ˈnäfələ̇st , sīˈ- \
: a dog fancier : one that is favorably disposed toward dogs
The word has Greek roots: cyn-, meaning dog, and phil-, meaning to love.
Cynophilist seems like an especially suitable choice for February 2018’s word of the month: Not only is February the month of love—Valentine’s Day falls, as always, on February 14—but this year, February 16 (today!) also marks the start of the Chinese Year of the Dog.