'britophile' originates from Modern English coinage, formed from 'Britain' + Greek 'philos', where 'philos' meant 'loving' or 'fond of'.

'philos' in Greek passed into Late Latin/French as the combining form '-phile' (seen in words like 'bibliophile' and 'anglophile'), and was adopted in English to form compounds such as 'britophile'.

Initially the element 'philos' meant 'loving' in a general sense; over time the compound 'britophile' came to specifically denote 'a person who loves Britain or British culture', a meaning that has remained consistent.