This page gathers the 112 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Philately”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples.
- approval noun Something mailed by a seller to a collector to match their stated interests; the collector can approve of or return the item.
- ar noun Initialism of acknowledgment of receipt.
- balloon mail noun The transport of mail, usually for weight reasons, in the form of a postcard carrying the name of the sender by means of an unguided…
- bank mix noun bulk stamps collected by banks and other large businesses, then sold to the collecting trade to raise funds for charities.
- bibliophilately noun The collection or study of postage stamps and other philatelic material thematically related to books or libraries.
- biophilately noun The collection or study of postage stamps and other philatelic material thematically related to biology (animals, plants etc.).
- bisect noun An envelope, card, or fragment thereof showing an affixed cut half of a regular issued stamp, over which one or more postal markings have…
- block noun A joined group of four (or in some cases nine) postage stamps, forming a roughly square shape.
- bob adj Back-of-the-book; denoting those stamps in a catalogue that are not used for the payment of regular postage fees, and are displayed…
- bogus adj Of a totally fictitious issue printed for collectors, often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country (not to be confused…
- bourse noun A meeting of stamp collectors and/or dealers, where stamps and covers are sold or exchanged.
- bullseye noun Any of the first postage stamps produced in Brazil from 1843.
- bundleware noun Postage stamps of the same issue tied together in small bundles, usually for bulk sorting or sale.
- cachet verb To mark (an envelope) with a commemorative stamped design or inscription.
- cancellation noun A postmark that marks a postage stamp so as to prevent its reuse.
- catalogue verb to value or sort stamps using a catalogue
- chalky paper noun A kind of paper coated with a chalky solution for security purposes, to prevent removal of a postmark without damaging the stamp.
- charity stamp noun A postage stamp which includes a premium for charitable causes in addition to the charge for postal service.
- Cinderella noun A stamp or stamp-like label issued for purposes other than postal administration, not issued by a central government, or not listed in most…
- commemorative noun A postage stamp issued to commemorate, usually a person or event; also commonly applied to thematic (topical) stamp issues.
- convention state noun Any of the Indian feudal states which, during the time of the British Empire, used overprinted Indian stamps valid for postage outside the…
- court fee noun Adhesive stamps, attached to court papers to pay fees. Previously common in India and now popular with collectors.
- cover noun An envelope complete with stamps and postmarks etc.
- CTO noun A cancelled-to-order postage stamp.
- CU phrase Initialism of commercially used (used in stamp descriptions).
- CV noun Initialism of catalog value.
- definitive noun an ordinary postage stamp that is part of a series of all denominations or is reprinted as needed to meet demand
- Downey Heads noun British stamps with the image of King George V, based on a photograph by the court photographers W & D Downey.
- duplex noun A cancellation combining a numerical cancellation with a second mark showing time, date, and place of posting.
- entire noun A complete envelope with stamps and all official markings: (prior to the use of envelopes) a page folded and posted.
- essay noun A proposed design for a postage stamp or a banknote.
- feudatory state noun any of the Indian feudal states which operated their own internal postal services during the time of the British Empire, issuing stamps…
- forerunner noun A postage stamp used in the time before a region or area issues stamps of its own.
- frame noun The outer decorated portion of a stamp's image, often repeated on several issues although the inner picture may change.
- glassine noun A small stamp packet made from glassine paper.
- green stamp noun A type of trading stamp.
- gutter noun An unprinted space between rows of stamps.
- Hagner noun A stamp display stock sheet made by Hagner UK, or, through trademark erosion, any similar stock sheet.
- halfpenny noun A postage stamp worth half of one penny.
- health stamp noun Any of a long-running series of postage stamps of New Zealand whose price includes a premium for charitable causes in addition to the usual…
- HR noun Initialism of hinge remnant.
- illegal adj Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
- imperforate noun A postage stamp that has not been perforated.
- indicia noun A preprinted marking on a mailpiece which shows that postage has been paid by the sender.
- killer noun A particularly heavy type of handstamp, or portion of one, often obscuring a large part of the postage stamp.
- killer cancel noun A cancellation mark that is so heavy that it defaces the postage stamp to which it is applied, devaluing it from a collector's point of…
- lakatoi noun any of the series of postage stamps issued in British New Guinea and Papua featuring a design of a lakatoi.
- Machin noun Any of a British series of definitive stamps designed by Arnold Machin, first issued in 1967 and featuring a side view portrait of Queen…
- maximum card noun A postcard with the stamp placed on the picture side of the card where the stamp and card match or are in concordance.
- miniature sheet noun A smaller-than-normal sheet or pane of usually identical postage stamps, commonly containing gum and perforations, sometimes bearing a…
- mint adj Unused with original gum; as issued originally.
- miscut noun Incorrect separation of postage stamps; a postage stamp resulted from such an error.
- MS noun Initialism of mini-sheet.
- mute cancel noun A postal cancellation that does not state any location or date, used in wartime to prevent the enemy gathering information about troop…
- nibbed adj Of a stamp: having the nib of its perforation removed or damaged.
- obliterate verb To cancel (a postage stamp) with a postmark so it cannot be reused.
- odontometer noun A perforation gauge.
- omnibus noun A stamp issue, usually commemorative, that appears simultaneously in several countries as a joint issue.
- overfrank verb To apply stamps with a higher value than the postage required to a letter.
- overprint noun The addition of new text on a previously printed stamp, usually to add a surcharge or change the face value.
- pane verb To fit with panes.
- penge noun (typically penge flaw or penge error) a printing flaw on early Australian stamps where the c in pence appeared like the letter g.
- Penny Black noun The world's first official national mail postage stamp, issued in 1840 in the United Kingdom as part of the postal reforms establishing a…
- perfin noun Perforated initial; a series of small holes punched into a stamp and forming a letter, series of letters or other design for the purpose of…
- perforate adj Perforated.
- perforation gauge noun A device for measuring the number of perforations per 2 centimetre distance along the edge of a postage stamp.
- philatelically inspired adj Produced by the postal authorities, but intended for stamp collectors rather than normal postage usage.
- pictorial noun A stamp featuring a vignette of local scenery or culture.
- plate verb to categorise stamps based on their position on the original sheet, in order to reconstruct an entire sheet.
- plate block noun A block of stamps from the edge of the sheet which shows the plate from which the stamps were printed.
- plating noun An act of determining where a postage stamp is positioned on a sheet.
- postage due noun A postage due stamp.
- postage due stamp noun An adhesive stamp affixed by a post office to an item of mail, indicating that insufficient or no postage has been prepaid.
- postally used adj Of a postage stamp, cancelled in the normal course of postal business, rather than to devalue it for sale to collectors.
- prestamp adj Prior to the introduction of adhesive postal stamps.
- provisional noun A postage stamp issued locally before an official issue is released.
- provisory noun Synonym of provisional.
- roulette noun Any of the small incisions on a sheet of stamps, used as an alternative to perforations.
- rust noun Damage caused to stamps and album pages by a fungal infection.
- Sc noun The Scott catalogue of stamp values.
- sea horse noun Any of a series of high-value British stamps issued during the reign of King George V, featuring a depiction of Britannia on a chariot in…
- second day cover noun A letter or card with a new postage stamp, postmarked on the day after the official release of a stamp.
- semipostal adj Of a postage stamp, issued and sold for a higher price than its face value, with the excess monies transferred to a third party, typically…
- socked on the nose adj Having a cancellation mark, typically round, centered on the stamp.
- souvenir sheet noun A small block or sheet of postage stamps, including a single value or a series of stamps, often without gum or perforations, having a wide…
- spacefiller noun A stamp in poor condition used to fill a space in an album until a better quality example becomes available, or if the better example is…
- specimen noun A postage stamp sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries
- stamp collection noun A philatelist's collection of stamps.
- stampless adj Prior to the introduction of adhesive postal stamps.
- stock sheet noun A strong card, typically black, with firm clear plastic strips placed horizontally, used to store or display stamps.
- stockbook noun storage book used by stamp collectors for storage of postage stamps placed in pockets, on pages, for easy viewing.
- strike noun A cancellation postmark.
- surcharge noun An overprint on a stamp that alters (usually raises) the original nominal value of the stamp; used especially in times of hyperinflation.
- tête-bêche adj Of a postage stamp, printed upside down relative to the following stamp of the same row or column.
- thin noun A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole.
- tied adj A cover having a stamp where the postmark cancellation overlaps the stamp.
- topical noun A postage stamp depicting a particular theme or subject (such as birds or trains), potentially sought out by topical stamp collectors.
- traffic light noun The colored dots on stamp sheet margins printed with offset printing or photogravure methods, used by the printers to check color accuracy.
- triptych noun A set of three se-tenant postage stamps that form a composite picture.
- uglies noun The stamps of the Indian feudatory states.
- underprint noun Printing underneath the main design of a stamp, intended to prevent forgery or removal of the postmark.
- unhinged adj Not having ever been mounted using a stamp hinge.
- uprate verb To put a higher value of postage on (a letter) than required by the official rate.
- variety noun A stamp, or set of stamps, which has one or more characteristics (such as colour, paper, etc.) differing from other stamps in the same…
- vignette noun The central pictorial image on a postage stamp.
- wallpaper noun Gaudy mass-produced stamps, typically of little or no value and only produced for sale to collectors.
- widow's weeds noun a stamp bearing a portrait of Queen Victoria wearing mourning clothes
- wilding noun Any of a series of British stamps that have an image of Queen Elizabeth II based on a portrait by Dorothy Wilding.
- woodblock noun The emergency issue of the Cape triangles, printed in 1861.
- write up verb To annotate a stamp album page with details about the stamp, such as die used or colour variety.
- Zepp noun A Zeppelin stamp.
- Zeppelin stamp noun A postage stamp intended to pay the postage for mail carried on Zeppelin flights, either specially designed or overprinted, issued by…