What is an Oenophile?
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By Robin Garr
To paraphrase the old joke about engineers, "Not long
ago, you didn't even know what an 'oenophile' was, and now you might
be one."
Perhaps surprisingly, one of our most frequently asked wine
questions is, "What's the fancy word for 'wine lover'?" Prompted by
a recent topic in our Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, today seems
like a good opportunity to take a look at this somewhat obscure and
rather formal term.
"Oenophile," pronounced "ee-no-file," comes from the ancient
Greek, as do many similar words for enthusiasts and hobbyists, from
"bibliophile" (book lover) to "logophile" (word lover) and hundreds
more.
Its derivation is simple: "Oeno" from "oenos," the Greek word for
"wine," with the standard "-phile" (one who loves) tacked on. A long
list of related "oeno-" words extends from the fairly common
"oenology" (the study of wine) to a truly obscure set passed along
by a scholarly friend from the Oxford English Dictionary, including
such oddities as "oenomania" (an intense craving for wine), "oenomancy"
(divination or fortune-telling by means of wine), and even "oenophobist,"
one who has a dread of or aversion to wine. I am not kidding about
this.
Finally, several or our participants observed that the rather
archaic-seeming "Oe-" at the beginning of these wine words is
gradually shifting to just-plain "E," shortening "Oenophile" to "Enophile."
This evolution appears to be more commonplace in the United States
(where even the prestigious Department of Viticulture and Enology of
the University of California at Davis has shed the leading "O") than
in Britain, where most wine lovers stick conservatively with the
older form.
Are you an oenophile? An enophile? Personally, I find the term
just a bit too pompous and formal, best reserved for those rare
occasions when black tie and tux are called for. The plain-English
"wine lover" suits me fine, or as the French would have it in
literally the same words, "amateur de vin."
If you would like to read or join in the Wine Lovers' Discussion
Group's online conversation on this topic, you're invited to click
to join the topic "What's
the right spelling of oenophile?" |
