Philately

Grammar

This term is a noun.

Etimology of Philately

(You may find philately at the world legal encyclopedia and the etimology of more terms).

stamp-collecting, 1865, from French philatélie, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin (in “Le Collectionneur de Timbres-poste,” Nov. 15, 1864), from Greek phil- “loving” (see philo-) + ateleia “exemption from tax,” the closest word Herpin could find in ancient Greek to the concept of “postage stamp” (from a- “without” + telos “tax;” see toll; this term is also a noun.). A reminder of the original function of postage stamps, now often forgotten: the cost of letter-carrying formerly was paid by the recipient; stamps indicated it had been pre-paid by the sender, thus the letters were “carriage-free.” It is a pity that for one of the most popular scientific pursuits one of the least popularly intelligible names should have been found. [Fowler] Stampomania (1865) also was tried. Stamp-collecting is from 1862. Related: Philatelic; philatelism; philatelist.