Etymology

1865, from philatélie, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin (in Le Collectionneur de Timbres-poste, Nov. 15, 1864) from φιλο- (philo-, love of) + ἀτέλεια (atelīa), the closest word he could find in Ancient Greek to the concept of "postage stamp" (from a- "without" + telos "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".

Noun

1. Stamp collecting.
2. The study of postage stamps, postal routes, postal history, etc.