achlyo-, achly-, achlys-, achlu-

(Greek: mist, dimness, darkness)

achluophobia (s) (noun), achluophobias (pl)
A horror of being in the dark or existing in any unlighted areas: An achluophobia involves refraining from going out at night, increased anxiety as evening approaches, not wanting to look outside the window in order to avoid seeing the nocturnal environment, avoidance of looking into dark rooms, and always having some kind of light available.
Achlya (s) (noun) (no pl)
1. A genus of water molds included in the class Oomycetes: Achlya encompasses many plant pathogens, among them Achlya klebsiana and Achlya conspicua.
2. A genus of the order Saprolegniales: It is interesting to know that some fungus-like organisms of the genus Achlya can grow on certain fish and insects.
3. A genus of moths of the subfamily Thyatirinae of the Drepanidae: One interesting species of the Achlya is the month Achlya flavicornis which was first described in Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
achlys (s) (noun) (no pl)
1. An obsolete term for the dimness of eyesight, or a speck on the cornea of the eye: Since Jane couldn't see very well, she went to her ophthalmologist and was diagnosed to have achlys that was causing her poor vision.
2. A genus of butterflies in the subfamily Brassolinæ: One of the species of the genus Achlys is the gigantic owl-butterfly of South America, the C. eurylochus, which has a wingspan of about 9 inches!