oenophile
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does oenophile mean? An oenophile is a person who greatly enjoys wine and knows a lot about it; a wine lover. An oenophile is considered a connoisseur of wine, meaning they don’t just like it—they love it and know a lot about it. Less commonly, oenophile is spelled œnophile or enophile. Example: Brian is a true oenophile—he belongs to a wine tasting group and keeps his cellar stocked.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oenophile
1925–30; < French < Greek oîn ( os ) wine + -o- -o- + French -phile -phile
Explanation
An oenophile is someone who loves and appreciates wine. To drink wine like a true oenophile, you have to first inspect the color, then sniff it, then swish it around in your mouth. Once you've tasted all the oaky tannins and hints of red fruit, you can finally swallow. Oenophiles drink wine, discuss wine, keep wine in the cellar, and know which years produced the best wine. Don't confuse oenophiles with winos, another name for alcoholics who like cheap wine. Oenophiles prefer to savor the good stuff.
Vocabulary lists containing oenophile
All You Need is Love: Amor and Phil
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An Abundance of Katherines
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phil
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Give your fellow oenophile something different this year: Mexican wine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2024
"Drops of God" on Apple TV+ is not for everyone, but it's a gorgeously chilled masterwork focused on a contest to inherit the legacy of an oenophile.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023
He wasn’t quite the oenophile she was, but he was cute, she thought.
From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
It’s enough to make even the most ardent oenophile baulk, but a rambling four-day trip is the perfect way to get a sense of what makes each region special.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 14, 2020
In Boles’s “full-scale biography,” Jefferson is presented to us “in all his guises: politician, diplomat, party leader, executive; architect, musician, oenophile, gourmand, traveler; inventor, historian, political theorist; land owner, farmer, slaveholder; and son, father, grandfather.”
From Washington Post ● May 12, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
