melomane

Etymology

From French mélomane, from mélo- + -mane; equivalent to melo- + -mane.

Why this word is great

MELOMANE — [Noun] A person with an obsessive fondness for music; a melomaniac. From French mélomane, combining mélo- (from Greek mélos, "song") and -mane (from Greek manía, "madness"). Unlike "music lover" (which suggests casual enjoyment) or "audiophile" (which fixates on sonic precision), a melomane is consumed by the act of listening itself. It is the collector who owns seven pressings of the same album for the sake of a single note’s timbre, the concertgoer who weeps silently in the third row, the insomniac who lies awake dissecting the harmonic structure of a fugue—proof that devotion, even to something as intangible as sound, can border on the sacred.

noun

Synonym of melomaniac.“Monsieur de Rochetaillée was a melomane. He thought of nothing, cared for nothing but music. It was the passion of his life; he could not live without music and musicians.”