scopophile

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noun

One who is subject to scopophilia.

“Caligula was a scopophile who was not ashamed of his irregular desire to watch others making love, while Mr. Hoover, as a voyeur, favored the keyhole and wiretap as methods of observation.”

OriginAncient Greek φίλος (phílos) ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰil-o-s ← Proto-Hellenic *sképt͏̌omai →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounscopophile (plural scopophiles)

plural scopophiles · alternative scoptophile

  1. human sciencesOne who is subject to scopophilia.

    Caligula was a scopophile who was not ashamed of his irregular desire to watch others making love, while Mr. Hoover, as a voyeur, favored the keyhole and wiretap as methods of observation.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
scopophiliac

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
  3. Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
  4. Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
  5. Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
  6. Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*bʰil-o-s
  8. Ancient Greekφίλος (phílos)
  9. Englishscopophile

From Ancient Greek σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”) + English -phile.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

scopophile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scopophile

MLA

“scopophile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scopophile. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scopophile,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scopophile.

Source: scopophile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.