philately

philately
\ \ [19] When a Monsieur Herpin, a French stamp-collector, was looking for an impressive and learned-sounding term for his hobby, he was hampered by the fact that the Greeks and Romans did not have postage stamps, and therefore there was no classical term for them. So he decided to go back a stage beyond stamps, to the days of franking with a post-mark. In France, such letters were stamped franc de portcarriage-free’, and the nearest he could get to this in Greek was atelésfree of charge’, a compound formed from a- ‘not’ and télospayment’. Using the Greek prefix phil- ‘loving, love of’ (as in philosophy and a wide range of other English words) he created philatélie, which made its first appearance in English in 1865.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Philately — is the study and collecting of revenue and postage stamps. This includes the design, production and uses of stamps after they are authorized for issue, usually by government officials such as postal authorities. Philately is the distinct activity …   Wikipedia

  • Philately — Phi*lat e*ly, n. [Philo + Gr. ? exemption from tax; cf. frank to send free.] The collection of postage stamps of various issues. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • philately — (n.) stamp collecting, 1865, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin (in Le Collectionneur de Timbres poste, Nov. 15, 1864), from Gk. phil loving + ateleia exemption from tax, the closest word he could find in ancient Greek to the concept …   Etymology dictionary

  • philately — The collection and study of the postage stamp and postal stationery for pleasure and profit …   Glossary of postal terms

  • philately — ► NOUN ▪ the collection and study of postage stamps. DERIVATIVES philatelic adjective philatelist noun. ORIGIN from Greek philo loving + ateleia exemption from payment , used to mean a franking mark or postage stamp exempting the recipient from… …   English terms dictionary

  • philately — [fə lat′ l ē] n. [Fr philatélie, coined (1864) < Gr philos, loving + ateleia, exemption from (further) tax, taken as equivalent of “postage prepaid”] the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks, stamped envelopes, etc. philatelic… …   English World dictionary

  • philately — philatelic /fil euh tel ik/, philatelical, adj. philatelically, adv. philatelist /fi lat l ist/, n. /fi lat l ee/, n. 1. the collecting of stamps and other postal matter as a hobby or an investment. 2. the study of postage stamps, revenue …   Universalium

  • philately — [[t]fɪlæ̱təli[/t]] N UNCOUNT Philately is the hobby of collecting and learning about postage stamps. [FORMAL] …   English dictionary

  • philately n — What did the nice girl say when her date invited her home to see his stamp collection? Philately will get you nowhere …   English expressions

  • philately — filatelija statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Pašto ir žyminio mokesčio ženklų, vokų su ženklais ir specialiais antspaudais rinkimas, tyrimas ir rinkinių rodymas. Atsirado XIX a. 4 ąjį dešimtmetį. Terminas vartojamas nuo 1864 m …   Sporto terminų žodynas

  • philately — noun Etymology: French philatélie, from phil + Greek ateleia tax exemption, from atelēs free from tax, from a + telos tax; perhaps akin to Greek tlēnai to bear; from the fact that a stamped letter frees the recipient from paying the mailing… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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