bibliophile

See also: Bibliophile

English

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bibliophile

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

bibliophil (archaic)

Etymology

First attested in 1820. From biblio- +‎ -phile (from Ancient Greek βιβλίον (biblíon, “paper, document, tablet”) + φίλος (phílos, “beloved”)), probably after French bibliophile.^[1]

Pronunciation

enPR: bĭb′lē-ə-fīl″
(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪblɪəˌfaɪl/, /ˈbɪblɪəfɪl/, /ˌbɪblɪˈɒfəˌlɪzəm/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪb li əˌfaɪl/, /ˈbɪb li əˌfɪl/

Noun

bibliophile (plural bibliophiles)

One who loves books.
- 1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 97:
  A bad example often finds imitators, and every season there crop up for public sale one or two such collections formed by bibliomaniacs who, although calling themselves bibliophiles, ought really to be ranked among the worst enemies of books.
- 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[1], page R28:
  [A] savage passage of 14th-century invective about the text-obsessed nerdiness of the Florentine bibliophile and friend of Petrarch, Niccolò Niccoli ...
One who collects books, not necessarily due to any interest in reading them.
(rare) One who loves the Bible.
Alternative form: Bibliophile
- 1995 April 23, Julian Smith, “Romans 1:26-27 Variants II”, in bit.listserv.catholic‎^[2] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:
  So, just for fun, here are the versions of Romans 1:26-27. Now don't go assuming jsmith@epas.utoronto.ca must be some kind of great bibliophile because he got all these old versions together. They're all in one place, the _New Testament Octapla_ by Luther Weigle, and I added a few of my own texts from my library; took me only a few minutes to type them.
- 1999 February 18, Silva, “WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF JESUS *DID* RETURN?”, in alt.bible.errancy‎^[3] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:
  I dont^[sic] consider myself a bibliophile....I just think it is God's word.
- 2003 December 17, penitent leper, “Why was Christ Crucified ?”, in alt.religion.christian‎^[4] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:
  >HA HA here we have this Bastachs Fuckhead
  >defending Christianity […]
  Your name is as wrong as the rest of your idiotic notions: you're not a bibliophile, you're a bibliophobe.