Word: bibliophile
Pronunciation: BI-blee-ə-fyl
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a person who collects or has a great love of books
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Since last week I shared a word that defines people who love words, today I thought I’d continue on that line to discuss another word for a certain kind of enthusiast. If you consider yourself a “logophile”, then you likely qualify as a “bibliophile” too. It’s only logical to assume that with a love of words comes a love of books!
A “bibliophile” is someone who loves and/or collects books. The word arose in the early 19th century and is originally French. This noun comprises two Greek roots: the noun biblion “book” and the adjective phílos “loved”.
While “bibliophile” isn’t a word I see or hear too often, it may be one of my favorites for describing people who are passionate about reading. Book lovers keep our magical world of creative writing alive, so it makes sense that there’s a perfect vocabulary word to define them. If you’re a novelist whose characters are book enthusiasts, you can no doubt have fun writing as much for the “bibliophiles” in your stories as in your audience!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
Good choice of word for ‘b’. I agree, it’s not one we hear too often, other than amongst book lovers – and the odd bloggers who describes themselves that way. The derivation is interesting, too. :
Thanks! True, this one is probably more common in book lover circles than anywhere else, but it’s a great word to know nonetheless! Thanks for reading! 🙂