Meanings
- uncountablebiologyA preference for moderate temperatures.
- uncountableA paraphilic sexual preference for middle-aged people.
If sexual interest in mature women (mesophilia) can be understood by a dysfunctional youthfulness module (and hence a lack of a force pulling in the opposite direction of maturity), only the first two factors should play a role (H3).
2021, Leam A. Craig, Ross M. Bartels, Sexual Deviance, page 471 more example
Michael Seto's (2016) "chronophilia" system is a series of paraphilias […] from infancy (nepiophilia) and pedophilia (prepubescent children) to […] mesophilia (middle-aged adults, typically in their 40s or 50s), and gerontophilia (elderly adults, typically 60s or older).
2019, William T. O'Donohue, Daniel S. Bromberg, Sexually Violent Predators: A Clinical Science Handbook, page 41
Origin
From meso- + -philia. In the paraphilia sense, coined by psychologist Michael Seto in 2016.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
mesophilia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesophilia
“mesophilia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesophilia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mesophilia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesophilia.
Source: mesophilia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.