A person with an appreciation and usually knowledge of fine wine.

The root *oeno-* comes from the Greek word meaning “wine.” The oenophile should be distinguished from the *oenologist,* or “student of wine,” who has a technical knowledge of the cultivation of wine grapes and of the whole winemaking process. Oenophiles may not know how to make a great wine, but they know one when they taste it. Not only that, but they can describe it using nouns like *nose, finish,* and *bouquet*, as well as adjectives such as *woody, full-bodied, robust,* and *noble*.

A person who collects or studies stamps.

The first postage stamps were made available on May 1, 1840, in England, and it didn't take long for the hobby of stamp collecting to arise. Within a year, a young London lady was letting it be known in a newspaper advertisement that she was “desirous of covering her dressing room with cancelled postage stamps.” *Philately* has been alive and well ever since, though modern philatelists—including rock stars, English kings, and American presidents—are more likely to put the stamps they collect in special albums.

A person who greatly admires or favors England and English things.

Even after fighting two wars against Britain, Americans continued to regard England with more fondness than perhaps any other country. For much of our history, Americans have sought to imitate the British in any number of ways —American movie stars even used to adopt British accents—and the two countries have long been close allies. But Britain isn't the only country Americans fall in love with; *Francophiles* (France-lovers), *Germanophiles* (Germany-lovers), and *Italophiles* (Italy-lovers) are also common. In the 19th century, Russian *Slavophiles* called for rejecting European culture in favor of homegrown Russian culture (Slavs being those who speak a Slavic language such as Russian or Polish). Occasionally *phil-* words are turned around; thus, someone who is *philosemitic* is a lover of Jewish culture.

(1) A charitable act or gift. (2) An organization that distributes or is supported by charitable contributions.

With its *anthro-* root (see ANTHROP), *philanthropy* means literally “love of mankind.” Thus, philanthropy is giving money for a purpose or cause benefiting people who you don't personally know. (Animals are usually included as well.) Individuals have often set up their own permanent *philanthropic* organizations in the form of foundations. The greatest American *philanthropists* have included Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller, but tens of millions of us could be considered philanthropists on a much smaller scale.

(1) Failing to take proper or normal care. (2) Marked by or likely to show neglect.

To be negligent is to be *neglectful*. *Negligence* is an important legal concept; it's usually defined as the failure to use the care that a normally careful person would in a given situation. Negligence is a common claim in lawsuits regarding medical malpractice, auto accidents, and workplace injuries. But you can also be negligent about answering your e-mail, or negligent in the way you dress. (The original garment called a *negligee* was worn by women who had neglected to get fully dressed.) The legal meanings of *negligent* and *negligence*, however, tend to be the ones we most often encounter nowadays.

Self-denial.

Abnegation plays an important part in the teachings of all the major religions. The founder of Buddhism was a prince who gave up all his worldly goods when he discovered the world of poverty that lay outside the palace gates, and abnegation has been a Buddhism practice ever since. Hinduism has an even older tradition of abnegation. Special periods of abnegation and fasting may even be included in a religion's yearly calendar; serious Christians give up some pleasure for the 40-day period of Lent, for instance, and Muslims are forbidden to eat during daylight hours during the month of Ramadan.

So small as to be neglected or disregarded.

*Negligible* comes from the same Latin verb as *neglect,* so something negligible is literally “neglectable.” If an accident results in negligible damage to your car, you should be thankful. If two years of intense focus on testing in the classroom results in a negligible improvement in student test scores, it's probably time to try something new.

To go back on a promise or commitment.

To renege on a bet is to refuse to pay up when you lose. To renege on a promise of marriage, or on a deal of any kind, is to pull out. History is full of promises and commitments and treaties that were reneged on, such as the many treaties with Native Americans that American settlers and the U.S. government went back on over a period of almost 300 years. A synonym is *welsh* (“He always welshes on his deals”); however, since that word may have come from *Welsh*, meaning a native of Wales in Britain, some people think it might be offensive.