Everyday LifeGreek → English
Philately
/fɪˈlætəli/noun
The collection and study of postage stamps and postal history.
The Greek roots
φίλος
phílos
loving, fond of
ἀτέλεια
atéleia
exemption from charge
Literally: “love of things free of charge”
The story of the word
Georges Herpin needed a word in 1864 for a hobby then going under the name timbromanie, stamp-madness, which collectors found undignified. Ancient Greek had nothing for a postage stamp, so he built on ἀτέλεια, freedom from a charge, the logic being that a stamp means the recipient pays nothing on delivery. Read strictly, philately is the love of not being taxed.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → French → English
- First recorded
- 1860s
Same family
philosophyteleologyphilanthropy
In a sentence
His philately started with the contents of a shoebox left by an uncle.