What does coprophilic mean?
Coprophilic is an adjective describing an attraction to, affinity for, or association with feces. It derives from the Greek roots kopros (dung) and philos (loving). In clinical psychology, it characterizes coprophilia, a rare paraphilia involving sexual arousal from feces. In biology, particularly mycology, coprophilic describes organisms — most famously certain fungi such as Panaeolus and Pilobolus — that grow on dung and have evolved ingenious mechanisms for dispersing their spores onto vegetation where grazing animals will ingest them. The word is technical rather than colloquial, appearing chiefly in scientific papers, psychiatric texts, and specialist writing. It should not be confused with coprophagous, which refers specifically to the eating of feces, a behavior common in rabbits, rodents, and many insects. Its register is formal, and its subject matter makes it unsuited to polite conversation, but within its domains it is precise and well established.
Relating to or characterized by coprophilia, an abnormal attraction to feces.
"The psychiatrist documented a case of coprophilic arousal in the patient's history."
Primarily a clinical term.
(Biology) Growing on or strongly associated with dung, especially of fungi.
"Coprophilic fungi depend on herbivores dispersing their spores through digestion."
Often interchangeable with the synonym coprophilous in mycological writing.
Some of the world's most striking fungi are coprophilic — they exist almost exclusively on animal dung, and spores only germinate after passing through a gut.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coprophilic
Coprophilic comes from the ancient Greek kopros, meaning dung, combined with philos, meaning loving or fond of, via the combining form -philic. The same two roots produce related English terms such as coprophagy (dung-eating) and coprolite (fossilized dung), while the -phil element appears widely in words like bibliophile and hemophilia. The word entered scientific English during the nineteenth century, when naturalists began systematically classifying dung-inhabiting fungi.
Related word forms
How coprophilic is actually used
A technical term found mainly in clinical psychology and mycology; rare in everyday speech. In casual contexts, 'scatological' covers related humor or content more broadly.
Easily confused with coprophilic
Coprophagous describes the eating of feces (as in dung beetles), while coprophilic describes an attraction to or affinity for feces, whether psychological or, in fungi, a tendency to grow on dung.