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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
Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 27 Dec. 2025
Serious steak enthusiasts and oenophiles may want to book a room at the Epicurean Hotel, Bern’s sister property just across the street.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 19 Dec. 2025
Hand an oenophile a bottle of the Pizzella 2019 ($15.99 at Total Wine locations) and you’ll be hailed as a style maestro.
—Gretta Monahan, Boston Herald, 18 Dec. 2025
Allavino 99-Bottle Wine Refrigerator More serious oenophiles can protect their precious collection with this refrigerator, that employs technology to reduce fluctuations in humidity and keep temperature steady.
—Mark Marino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oenophile
Cite this Entry
“Oenophile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oenophile. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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