bibliomania

noun

bib·lio·ma·nia ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈmā-nē-ə

-nyə

: extreme preoccupation with collecting books

bibliomaniac

ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈmā-nē-ˌak

noun or adjective

bibliomaniacal

ˌbi-blē-ō-mə-ˈnī-ə-kəl

adjective

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French bibliomanie, from biblio- biblio- + -manie -mania

Note: Coinage of bibliomanie has been attributed to the French physician and man of letters Guy Patin (1601-72). The word is used several times in Patin's correspondence, perhaps earliest in a letter of December 20, 1652 (see Correspondance complète et autres écrits de Guy Patin, online at biusante.parisdecartes.fr).

First Known Use

1734, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bibliomania was in 1734

See more words from the same year