philately

Definitions

phil (love) + ately (from Greek atelēs 'tax-free,' a- 'not' + telos 'tax') = 'love of the tax-free things.' Before prepaid stamps, postage was paid on delivery; a stamp meant the fee was already settled, so the letter arrived 'free of charge' to the receiver. A French collector coined the word in 1864 for the love of these little tax-free labels.

Why It Means This

Philately is a hidden pun. There was no neat Greek word for 'stamp,' so the coiner reached back to atelēs ('free of tax') — the whole point of a stamp was that postage was prepaid, not collected from the recipient. So the word for stamp-collecting literally celebrates 'not having to pay the postage.'

Common Collocations

• 1.stamp collecting集邮
• 2.philately club集邮俱乐部
• 3.postal history邮政历史

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He took up philately as a boy and never lost the passion.

• 2.

  Philately teaches you a surprising amount of history and geography.