An attraction to or love of pain; a psychological condition involving the desire to experience or inflict pain, closely related to masochism or sadism.
From Greek algos (pain) + philos (love/attraction). This psychological term emerged in the late 19th-early 20th century as psychiatrists classified and named various desires and paraphilias.
Algophilia is a rare term in modern psychology—today we more commonly use 'masochism' (for those who enjoy receiving pain) or 'sadism' (for those who enjoy inflicting it), which are better understood scientifically than older concepts of 'pain-loving.'
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