philately

American  

[fi-lat-l-ee] / fɪˈlæt l i /

noun

1. the collecting of stamps and other postal matter as a hobby or an investment.

2. the study of postage stamps, revenue stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks, postal cards, covers, and similar material relating to postal or fiscal history.

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philately British  

/ fɪˈlætəlɪ, ˌfɪləˈtɛlɪk /

noun

1. the collection and study of postage stamps and all related material concerned with postal history

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Other Word Forms

• philatelic adjective
• philatelical adjective
• philatelically adverb
• philatelist noun

Etymology

Origin of philately

First recorded in 1860–65; from French philatélie, from Greek phil- phil- + atéleia “freedom from charges” (taken to mean recipient's freedom from delivery charges by virtue of the stamp which sender affixed to the letter), literally, “want of taxation,” equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + tél(os) “tax” + -eia -y ³

Explanation

Philately is a fancy way to say "stamp collecting." If you want to get involved in philately, you can start by saving the stamps from your pen pal's letters. Philately comes from the French philatélie, which was coined by a 19th-century stamp collector using the Greek phil-, "loving," and atelēs, "free of taxes." This last part explains how a postage stamp works, exempting the recipient from paying taxes on the letter or package they receive. Your interest in philately might be casual, saving stamps from birthday cards — or more serious, collecting and trading valuable or historically interesting stamps.

Example Sentences

To anyone who knows anything about philately, the words “stamps of Bosnia and Herzegovina” need no further explanation.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019

Might Kim Jong-un be as susceptible to philately, and consider a re-run for Harry and Meghan?

From The Guardian • Mar. 29, 2018

The sedate world of philately has seen of a surprising number of stamp controversies since Sir Rowland Hill introduce the Penny Black in 1840.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2017

Biology could not be reduced to physics, nor could philately or philology.

From Slate • Sep. 8, 2016

Jake’s mom shouted when he answered “A stamp” for the question “In philately, what is an Inverted Jenny?”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein