cataphile

English

Etymology

From French cataphile.

Noun

cataphile (plural cataphiles)

  1. A type of urban explorer who visits the ancient catacombs and quarries linked by tunnels beneath Paris.
    • 2004 October 13, Joelle Diderich, Police Play Cat & Mouse With New French Underground, in The Scotsman ():
      Skilled cataphiles elude police by ducking into corridors or moving in the dark.
    • 2005, David L. Pike, Subterranean Cities: The World Beneath Paris and London, 1800-1945, page 176-177:
      "...a Prussian zombie, and a Polish lamia, the Countess Norodna, in the Left Bank carrières (top and bottom frame right). The artist is a former cataphile, and the series is replete with subterranean history and folklore. The dialogue..."
  2. (by extension) Any individual who explores subterranean quarries, mines, or catacombs.

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