Rupophobia
/ˌruːpəˈfoʊbiə/noun
An excessive or irrational fear of dirt, filth, or contamination.
Did you know?The first half comes from Ancient Greek rhýpos, meaning dirt or filth, while phóbos originally referred to panic or flight before becoming the modern suffix for fear.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰegʷ-
“To flee or take flight; a proposed ancestral source for the Greek fear-word family.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥύπος (rhýpos)
“Dirt, filth, or bodily grime.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
φόβος (phóbos)
“Fear, panic, or terror; literally associated with flight.”
18th Century
English
-phobia
“A productive English suffix meaning an intense or irrational fear, borrowed through medical Greek and Latin terminology.”
19th–20th Century
Medical English
rupophobia
“A clinical term for an abnormal fear of dirt or contamination.”
Modern English
English
rupophobia
“An excessive fear of dirt, filth, or contamination.”
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