collectionitis

English

Etymology

From collection +‎ -itis. Compare French collectionnite.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

collectionitis (uncountable)

1. An obsessive desire to collect things; collectomania.
   • 1944, Douglas & Elizabeth Rigby, Lock, Stock and Barrel, page 317:

     His answer was one which, with appropriate variations, might have been given by any one of those who, like himself, have been willing sufferers from some form of collectionitis.

   • 1960, Harper's Magazine, volume 220:

     Collectionitis strikes in the most unexpected quarters: it has metamorphosed a butcher into an expert on ancient porcelain and a cab driver into an Orientalist.

   • 2001, Philippe Rouet, translated by Liz Nash, Approaches to the study of Attic vases: Beazley and Pottier, page 33:

     With his passion for collecting, Hartwig had formed a habit that is peculiar to those who suffer from ‘collectionitis’: the belief that he alone had the right to talk about a vase that he owned, even after he had parted with it.