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"It has become quite a common proverb that in wine there is truth," wrote the 1st-century A.D. Roman scholar, Pliny the Elder. The truth about the word wine is that it goes back to Latin vinum, but it is also a distant relative of the Greek word for wine, which is oinos. Indeed, Latin borrowed from the Greek to create a combining form that means "wine," oeno-. Modern French speakers combined oeno- with -phile (Greek for "lover of") to create oenophile before we adopted it from them in the mid-1800s. Oenophiles are sure to know oenology (now more often spelled enology) as the science of wine making and oenologist (now more often enologist) for one versed in oenology.
Examples of oenophile in a Sentence
City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2026
But across the over 700 wineries in the Willamette Valley American Viticultural Area, oenophiles can also find chardonnay, riesling, syrah, and pinot gris.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026
For oenophiles there are Andalusian sherries and Cape wines too.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
On the rooftop of The Views Baía hotel, Desarma reinvents the tedious tasting menu with ambitious, delicious works of art with every bite, paired to wines that impress even the most jaded of oenophiles.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Oenophile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oenophile. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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