bibliolater
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who reveres or worships books: "bibliolater" refers to an individual who holds an excessive or devout reverence for books, often treating them with near-religious veneration.
- A person who reveres the Bible specifically: In a more restricted sense, "bibliolater" can denote someone who venerates the Bible as a sacred text, sometimes to the point of bibliolatry (excessive worship of the Bible itself).
Usage Examples
- (She reveres books as sacred objects.)
- (He was criticized for excessive reverence of the Bible.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be a bibliolater of [something]": to be an excessive admirer of a particular type of book or text.
- He is a bibliolater of 19th-century novels, collecting first editions as if they were holy relics. (He reveres these books with extreme devotion.)
Variants and Related Words
Bibliolatry (n): excessive reverence for books, especially the Bible.
- His bibliolatry led him to refuse any criticism of the text's historical accuracy. (His worship of books was extreme.)
Bibliolatrous (adj): relating to or characterized by bibliolatry.
- Her bibliolatrous attitude made her unwilling to lend her books to anyone. (She treated books with excessive devotion.)
Bibliolateress (n, rare): a female bibliolater.
- The bibliolateress carefully arranged her library by genre and author. (A woman who reveres books.)
Synonyms
- Bookworm: a person who loves reading and spends much time with books (less intense than "bibliolater").
- Bibliophile: a person who collects or loves books, but not necessarily with religious reverence.
- Bibliomaniac: a person with an obsessive or excessive passion for collecting books (often pathological).
Related Idioms
- To worship at the altar of the book: to treat books with extreme reverence.
- He worships at the altar of the book, refusing to mark any page. (He venerates books as sacred.)
Phrasal Verbs
- (No direct phrasal verbs exist for "bibliolater"; it is a noun with no verb form.)