Etymologically, 'homophile' is derived from two Greek words - 'homo', meaning 'the same', and 'philos', meaning 'friend', or possibly 'philein', meaning 'to love', or 'to be dear to'. Greek uses 'eros' to signify 'sexual love', so philein should be taken to signify non-sexual love between
friends or members of the same family,
e.g. brothers.
In 'homophilia', 'homo' could signify a shortened form of '
homosexual'.
Thus homophilia could have two meanings-
1) supportive, brotherly friendship towards gays and lesbians, or
2) non-sexual love between two men or two women.
Broadly, it means an open, non-judgemental acceptance towards gays and lesbians, or, alternatively, towards the expression of non-sexual warmth and intimacy between people of the same
sex. It is the opposite of '
homophobia' - the fear or hatred of all things gay.
