# Looking for a word: Attraction to teens, not children?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-attraction-to-teens-not-children/233445>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 10, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-attraction-to-teens-not-children/233445 "2004-03-10T07:00:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WaryEri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ea666f/32.png) [@WaryEri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WaryEri)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-attraction-to-teens-not-children/233445/1 "2004-03-10T07:00:05Z")

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Gah. I feel entirely creepy about even starting a thread to ask this, but it’s to satisfy my vocabulary.  
The difference between sex with a minor who’s just under 18 and full pedophilia came up in a debate I was having elsewhere, and I remembered seeing a term for that sort of attraction used here.

Is there a technical term for some one who is attracted to those who are past/in mid puberty, but not pre-pubescent children? I thought it started with ‘e’, ended with ‘philia’, and I think I saw it used here on the SDMB.

My vocabulary isn’t worth trying to google something like this for. This seems to be the only safe way to find out.

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**Author:** ![The\_Weak\_Force](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@The\_Weak\_Force](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weak_Force)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-attraction-to-teens-not-children/233445/2 "2004-03-10T07:15:56Z")

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ephebophilia?

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**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-attraction-to-teens-not-children/233445/3 "2004-03-10T07:16:52Z")

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[Ephebophile](http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/e/ephebophilia.html)

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**Author:** ![WaryEri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ea666f/32.png) [@WaryEri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WaryEri)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word-attraction-to-teens-not-children/233445/4 "2004-03-10T07:21:03Z")

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Thank you both. That’s the word I was thinking of.