the term 'paedophile' was coined by Richard von Krafft-Ebing, first used as an English word by Havelock Ellis in the late 19th-early 20th century. It meant 'child-loving' because it specifically referred to those who felt sexual love for children, but did not necessarily seek sexual relationships; rather they put the child first and were often happy just spending time with the child.
Krafft-Ebing coined a partner term, 'pseudopaedophilia' to refer to those who sought sex with children; they were not classified as 'paedophiles' (that is, child-lovers) until the American sexologists in the 1950s used the term to mean any occurance of sexually-orientated adult-child relationship.
For all the major sexologists (most notably Krafft-Ebing, Ellis, Moll, Freud) paeodphiles did not pose a sexual threat to children because they would not want to distress them, rather the threat came from those saited with adult partners, the immoral, the sexually violent, and the working class. Make of it what you will...