Philately is the activity or hobby of collecting stamps.
Philately is the hobby of collecting stamps.
| Front | philately \fuh-LAT-uh-lee\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun Stamp collecting. [Who wouldn't love something tax free? George Herpin did. He was a French stamp fancier back in the 1860s, when stamps were a fairly new invention. Before stamps, the recipient of a letter -- not the sender -- had to pay the postage. Stamps forced the sender to foot the bill, and created a lot of stamp lovers among folks on the receiving end of the mail -- and a mania for stamp collecting. "Timbromania" was toyed with as a term to affix to this new hobby -- from the French word for stamp, "timbre." But when Herpin suggested "philatelie" (anglicized to "philately"), combining the Greek root "phil-," meaning "loving," with Greek "ateleia," meaning "tax-exemption," stamp lovers everywhere took a fancy to it and the name stuck.] "Those who imagine philately as boring probably have never examined a stamp, seen the intricacy of the design or researched the story behind the postal issue." |
Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.
Next card: Purlicue puhr-li-kyu noun space extended forefinger thumb flourish
Previous card: Vermicular pasta ver-mik-yuh-ler\ adjective resembling worm form motion
Up to card list: Hard English Vocabulary