philately

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points: 17
Words With Friends: 18
Letters: 9

Pronunciation

/fɪˈlæt.ə.li/

Definition of philately

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

(countable, uncountable)Stamp collecting.

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noun

(countable, uncountable)Stamp collecting.
(countable, uncountable)The study of postage stamps, postal routes, postal history, etc.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

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First use appears c. 1865. Borrowed from French philatélie, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin (in Le Collectionneur de Timbres-poste, Nov. 15, 1864) from Ancient Greek φιλέω (philéō, “I love”) + ἀτέλεια (atéleia), the closest word he could find in Ancient Greek to the concept of “postage stamp”, from ἀ- (a-, “without”) + τέλος (télos, “tax”). This word serves as 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”.

Words you can make from philately

200+ playable · top: PHYLLITE (16 pts)

Best play phyllite 16 points

7-letter words

5 words

6-letter words

14 words

5-letter words

41 words

4-letter words

81 words

3-letter words

58 words

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