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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
Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2025
Wine-world superstar McCoy is offering the ultimate oenophile’s insider access, whisking those who snap up this package behind the scenes of his latest undertaking long before any members of the public, or even mainstream collectors, will have the chance.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 18 Nov. 2025
Total Wine & More’s 2025 advent calendar of wine features varietals from all over the world that are sure to please even the pickiest oenophile.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2025
Georgina Jedikovska Georgina Jedikovska, journalist, plant engineer, oenophile and foodie.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 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 28 Nov. 2025.
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