ailurophobia (ī-ˌlu̇r-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə)

As Halloween approaches, people are busy decorating their houses with scary looking spiders, skeletons, and witches. Images of black cats are also a common decoration for Halloween; I see black cats with haunting eyes everywhere! In the United States, black cats are considered bad luck. But in other countries, like Japan, black cats are thought to bring good luck. For the last several months, a black cat has been roaming around in our yard. We see him almost every day. I like to think that this means that we will have good fortune!

Ailurophobia is the abnormal fear of cats. Ailurophobia comes from the Greek roots ailur- meaning cat and phobia meaning abnormal fear of. I know many more ailurophiles than ailurophobes – which one are you?

6 responses to “ailurophobia (ī-ˌlu̇r-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə)”

  1. dxpimaging Avatar

    I am neither an ailurophobe nor an ailurophile. However, I am a cynophile!

    1. The Word Explorer Avatar
  2. simizat Avatar

    How can anyone be afraid of cats? They’re adorable! ❤

    1. The Word Explorer Avatar

      What if the cat was BIG like a lion or a tiger?

      1. simizat Avatar

        Good point… 😀

  3. Vijay Avatar
    Vijay

    I was an ailurophobe, but, after your insightful post, I find myself an ailurophile!!

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I’m Tara!

My name is Tara and I am a recent graduate of Duke University, with dual degrees in cultural anthropology and political science, and a minor in linguistics. Twelve years ago, I started this blog to share my love of words with others and teach people about the intricacies of etymology and words across our beloved English language!