philatelist

American  

[fi-lat-l-ist] / fɪˈlæt l ɪst /

noun

1. a person who collects stamps as a hobby or investment.

   By following the points below, new philatelists will be able to start their stamp collection and enjoy the benefits of collecting.

2. an expert in the study of postage and revenue stamps, stamped envelopes and postmarks, postcards, and other items related to postal history.

   At the symposium, research on the history of American postal operations was discussed by philatelists and the interested public.

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Etymology

Origin of philatelist

First recorded in 1860–65; philatel(y) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Explanation

Don't call a coin collector a philatelist. That word is reserved for people who collect stamps. If you're going to become a philatelist, start saving those old envelopes. The phil- at the beginning of philatelist gives you a hint as to its meaning: it means "love" — a Francophile is a person who loves France. The Greek ateleia meant "exemption from payment," an exemption that was marked by a stamp. So a philatelist is literally a person who "loves stamps." The world of the philatelist is a strange and tiny one. It makes one wonder why someone starts collecting stamps in the first place. Maybe it's the pretty little pictures.

Example Sentences

The Loveland re-mailing programme was born some 70 years ago, when a postmaster called Mr Ivers, a devoted philatelist, began re-addressing all mail "From The Sweetheart City."

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2017

That lasted several years, until Yang, an amateur philatelist, got in another dust-up with a manager who touched some of his stamps.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2016

But he was best known for his tinier creations — his Postal Service stamps — and particularly for a series depicting lighthouses that was a philatelist sensation beginning in the 1990s.

From Washington Post • Feb. 2, 2016

McDowell described his trophies the way a philatelist might discuss his stamps.

From New York Times • May 8, 2015

Too often the young philatelist provides himself with a voluminous album in which his tiny but growing collection appears as a drop of water in the ocean.

From Peeps at Postage Stamps by Johnson, Stanley Currie